The Duty
by Avium
Summary: Gaara pinched the bridge of his nose, and muttered more to himself than anyone else, "I am not going to have a say in this, am I?" Set during the 4th Shinobi War. GaaSaku
1. Chapter 1

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

* * *

><p>It was, in retrospect, completely expected. After all, this was a war they were talking about.<p>

Of course, it didn't mean that Sakura was prepared for it. And judging from the slight widening of Gaara's eyes, neither was he.

"No," they had both declared simultaneously.

Tsunade was having none of that – she crossed her arms over her chest and did her best to stare down her student. It did make Sakura winch a little, but it was more out of reflex than anything else.

"Kazekage-sama."

The formal title; Tsunade was being entirely serious.

"Hokage-sama."

He gave as good as he got, apparently, and crossed his arms for good measure.

"Kazekage-sama, you are serving as the Regimental Leader of this war. It is imperative that your well-being is placed as a top priority. We cannot have you running around with unattended injuries, missing meals or God forbid, not sleeping," Tsunade added the last bit with a smirk, knowing well enough that though Gaara could sleep now, it was not something he considered very important in his daily routine.

She then gestured to Sakura and said, "As a show of the depth of our alliance in such times, I am assigning my apprentice, Haruno Sakura, to oversee to your care and health. She will be attached to the 4th Division as of this moment, but her first duties are to you. To facilitate her work, I am discharging her from the 3rd Division."

With every word that Tsunade spoke, Sakura's face grew paler and paler. She had signed up for a war, to be a frontline medic, and Tsunade was essentially tossing her off to babysit Gaara.

Gaara apparently felt the same way.

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, I do not require a babysitter. We have capable medics in our Division, my Ultimate Defence has not been compromised, and I do not need to be spoon-fed nor fussed over," Gaara's voice remained passive, but Sakura noticed the slight tightening of his hand over his crossed arms anyway.

"Capable medics are one thing, but no one matches the dedication of my student here," Tsunade turned to face Sakura fully, then sealed her fate for her – "Haruno Sakura, you are hereby assigned this S-rank mission of ensuring the vital well-being of our Regimental Leader, Sabaku no Gaara and Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure. Failure is not an option."

Sakura blanched – there was no wiggle room out of this one, not when it was declared as a mission.

"Shishou, I have to be in the frontlines! My primary duty should be to minimise casualties on the battlefield. The Kagekaze does not require round-the-clock watch! It's not like he has the tendency to go barreling head-first into the enemies like Naruto does."

"Sakura, am I taking you off frontline duties? No, I just want you to take on the additional duty of our Regimental Leader's well-being. You will still report to the Medic Unit everyday, so there's no escaping that," Tsunade's smile turned positively cunning, "Don't tell me you cannot manage an extra healing session here and there, and making sure that the Kazekage's dietary needs are met?"

Sakura resisted the urge to snort indignantly – it was painfully obvious that Tsunade was goading her. Tsunade wanted her to react and snap up this additional workload in defiance. In her younger year she would have pumped her fist and accepted anything thrown her way immediately.

Well, she was never one to shy away from a challenge, not even after all these years. Especially such a simple one.

Of course, the fist-pumping bit was not so appropriate for one of her standing anymore.

"Very well, Hokage-sama. I accept this mission, and I shall report to the Kagekaze's quarters daily between my other obligations."

Tsunade smirked. "Sakura, he's going to be your main obligation. That is what being a personal medic is about."

On the inside, Sakura was swearing up and down. On the outside, she merely smiled politely and nodded.

"Of course, shishou."

"Good. You can start by taking a baseline reading of the Kazekage's health," then Tsunade turned to Gaara, "And Gaara? This time, when a medic tells you to strip for a physical examination, could you please keep your underpants on? I don't think my medics can take anymore surprises of such a nature."

Sakura told herself that it would be extremely undignified to faint in horror, no matter what the circumstances.

Gaara pinched the bridge of his nose, and muttered more to himself than anyone else, "I am not going to have a say in this, am I?"


	2. Chapter 2

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

* * *

><p>When Sakura first stepped foot into the camp grounds of the 4th Division, she knew immediately that her presence would not be a welcomed one, if the killing intent radiating from the nearby groups of kunoichis was anything to go by.<p>

"I cannot believe they are assigning a Konoha shinobi to watch over Gaara-sama!"

"Are they implying that our medics are not up to scratch?"

"Did you hear? She's going to be sleeping with the Kagekaze."

Sakura rather gracelessly stumbled over a rock upon hearing those last words. Fortunately, she caught herself before she could make anymore of a fool of herself. Oh, she knew exactly what that last kunoichi meant, but she could have picked a better choice of words. Really, she could.

Certainly, she considered Gaara a friend, if by proxy through Naruto. He had grown into his role as leader of an entire hidden village, and despite being the youngest of the Kages, was chosen as the field leader to direct this war against the Akatsuki. He commanded respect and deserved every ounce of it.

But respected or not, it did not mean that she was willing to bunk with him!

Gaara, who was walking a few steps ahead, heard every single one of those whispered rumours. He stopped and turned around so suddenly that Sakura had to jerk herself backwards to avoid walking right into his chest.

"Let me make myself clear on several issues," he addressed the nearby shinobis at large, "Firstly, Haruno-san here is one of the most capable medics of our times, trained by the legendary Sannin Tsunade-sama herself. Her skills cannot be matched as easily as one thinks. Secondly, in this war, our allegiances are not to our individual villages, but to the entire shinobi world."

"And lastly, Haruno-san has her own tent," he cast a glance to Sakura as he spoke.

The relief that flinted across her face was almost amusing to watch. Almost.

Then he turned and continued walking as if nothing had happened. Sakura's brain took a second to kick back into gear before she caught up and fell into step behind him once more.

Gaara had led them to what Sakura considered the largest tent she had ever seen on field. She was about to make a quip about the privileges of being the commanding officer when she heard a soft sigh escape Gaara's lips.

"I told them I wanted a standard-issue tent, but they still gave me this."

_You__ are__ the __Regimental__ Leader,__ so __be__ prepared__ for __an __over-exposure__ to__ Little__ Acts__ of__ '__Kindness__'__,_Sakura thought to herself.

Gaara gestured to his left, drawing her attention to a comparatively smaller tent pitched just a little too close to his own.

"I see that they have your tent ready for you, Haruno-san. It should be adequately furnished, but should you find anything lacking, you may speak to Baki about it."

She shook her head rapidly, hands raised in protest as she squeaked out, "No, no – it's perfectly fine! I don't want to make any trouble!"

_Did he think that I was going to throw my weight around as his personal medic?_

"Good. Now if you'll follow me into my tent, we can discuss our… or shall I say, the Hokage's arrangements."

Ah, yes. The source of all her headaches.

Gaara lifted the flap of his tent, but stood back to let Sakura pass first. She was about to protest the gesture, that he was ranked far above her, but realised that it was more a gentlemanly move than anything else. So she practically scurried into the tent as quickly as she could.

Once inside, the first thing that came to her mind was how nicely furnished Gaara's tent was. Sakura was certain that no one else had a proper bed inside their tent. Or a personal pantry. And the size of the wardrobe… wait, was it bigger than her own wardrobe in Konoha?

While Sakura amused herself with inspecting the interior of the tent from where she stood, Gaara walked up to the table and sat down in front of it. That snapped Sakura's attention back to him immediately, and Gaara found himself suppressing the urge to smile at her obvious discomfort at being caught… admiring his sleeping quarters of all things.

"Haruno-sa…"

"Stop."

Gaara's gaze did not falter at the sudden disruption, having been used to being shut off or cut off mid-sentence in his younger years. Still, he found his interest piqued by Sakura interrupting him.

"Kagekaze-sama, we have known each other for years, and if we are to be working so closely in the coming months, I must insist that you call me by my given name."

Gaara's smile surprised her. He had expected nothing less from someone trained by a Sannin, and was in fact about to broach the very same subject.

"It seems we are of like mind on this matter, Har… Sakura. I will agree to your request if you will agree to two of mine."

"Wait, two for one isn't fair!" Sakura blurted out before she could stop herself.

Gaara raised two fingers, "The first request is that you will, in turn, call me by my given name, if we are to apply your logic to the argument." Then he lowered one finger. "The second request is that while we may both address each other by our first names, we cannot do so in the presence of other shinobis. It will not be proper given our respective standings."

"Agreed," Sakura grinned, then lifted her hand up to seal the deal.

Gaara pondered the meaning of the gesture for a moment, then extended his own hand out to clasp hers. The handshake was brief and professional, but Sakura could not help but notice how her own hand seemed to disappear into Gaara's much larger one.

She was the first to pull away, and Gaara looked down at his hand as if still unused to the idea of human contact. The sound of Sakura clapping her hands together roused him and made him lift his gaze to hers at once.

"Right. Now that we have that out of the way, let's take a look at your daily workload and make sure your dietary needs are met, shall we?" Sakura smiled brightly.

Oh, yes, she was _definitely_ trained by Tsunade.

"By the way, Gaara, why do I feel a constant hum of chakra surrounding your tent?"

Gaara's eyes widened slightly in surprise. The chakra-detecting barrier was supposed to be a secret, known only by those who erected it for him.

Perhaps Tsunade was not exaggerating when she boasted about her apprentice's fine chakra control.

Seeing as that Sakura was already aware of the barrier, Gaara saw no reason to continue keeping her in the dark, "It's a chakra-detecting barrier. It has been configured to recognise those who will have frequent access to my tent, and will alert me if there is a foreign chakra present."

He looked at her, smiling slyly, "It seems like the barrier did not recognise your chakra signature, so it was sending me an alert just now. I will need to talk to my specialists about adding your signature to the barrier so I will not get false alarms every time you come into my tent."

Sakura rested her hands on her hips, scowling, "This is only going to fuel the rumours about us, you realise?"

"Or will you prefer that I enter your tent whenever I require medical attention?"

Ok, even the image was wrong in her head. The male commanding officer, entering the cramped, tiny tent of a _female_ subordinate. And the funny noises that her patients sometimes made when she was treating them…

Just… no way. No. Way.

"Ok, ok – we'll do any medical treatments in _your_ tent if the need arises. After all, it is perfectly normal for a Kage's personal medic to attend to him in his personal quarters, right? I mean, how can a Kage be made to go to his medic – someone who is supposed to be at his side at all times to begin with?"

She was desperately trying to convince herself, and they both knew it.

"Of course, Sakura."

Briefly, Sakura considered if it would be possible for her to smack the smile off Gaara's face without leaving a mark.


	3. Chapter 3

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

* * *

><p>Sakura had taken advantage of the meeting of the five Kages to move into her tent proper. It was a relatively simple task, since she had already sealed away all the necessities in various storage scrolls. She was just about to duck into her tent with an armful of them with an older shinobi came up beside her.<p>

"Haruno-sama, if I may be of assistance," the shinobi made to take the scrolls out of her arms.

Sakura automatically pulled the scrolls a little closer to her chest as she studied the shinobi in front of her. Then her memory clicked into place. The shinobi standing before her must be Baki – Gaara's former teacher whom she had briefly conversed with while she was treating Kankurou's poisoning.

It had seemed like so long ago. "Baki-san, isn't it?"

The shinobi nodded, then said, "Haruno-sama, as Kazekage-sama's personal medic, you shouldn't be bothering with such mundane tasks. I can have a few currently untasked shinobis to assist your setup."

Sakura resisted the urge to grit her teeth, and instead forced out as pleasant a smile as she could. "It's no trouble at all, Baki-san. Besides, Kazekage-sama is at a meeting with the other Kages, so he is not around for me to watch over for now."

"Regardless of that, Haruno-sama, a medic of your standing shouldn't be…"

Sakura was pretty sure she was still smiling, but if the strain at the edge of her lips and the cocked eyebrow on Baki's face was any indication, it was faltering. Internally, she willed herself to calm down before she actually hit the Kazekage's former teacher over the head with a scroll.

It still hurt to smile unnaturally, though.

"Baki-san, I am not some helpless damsel who needs to sit down for a cup of tea while commandeering others to do my unpacking for me. I have many medical scrolls and tomes in these scrolls, all of which I must be able to find at a moment's notice. So it really is best if I do my own unpacking."

"Of course, Haruno-sama. But if you require any assistance…"

Okay, this was getting a little out of hand.

"Baki-san," Sakura readjusted the scrolls in her arms to stand a little straighter and taller, "I do not want to be treated any differently from the shinobis in this war; I do not deserve the suffix of 'sama' added to my name. From now onwards, please, call me Sakura."

"As you wish, Sakura-san."

Just… dammit.

Baki finally stepped aside to let Sakura into her tent. Once inside, she waited for Baki's chakra signature to fade into the distance. Then she heaved a sigh of annoyance, shoulder sagging the moment she heavily deposited her scrolls onto her cot.

"I am not enjoying this!" Sakura yelled out to no one specifically.

"What are you not enjoying?"

Sakura whipped around so quickly that Gaara was concerned for one ridiculous moment that she might topple right over.

"Kazekage-sama!"

"Gaara," he frowned at the formality she was displaying – the very formality she had wanted to avoid.

"That was a short meeting," Sakura tried to change the topic as subtly as she could, in spite of the fierce blush on her cheeks at being caught throwing a tantrum.

"There was little new to discuss. Now, whatever was the cause of your displeasure?"

She had to give it to him – he was a tenacious one.

"It's just…" she gestured towards everything and nothing in particular, "Everyone is addressing me so formally! Baki-san practically offered to give me an army of servants to help me unpack a moment ago! The kitchen staff bowed to me while handing me your weekly menu! And then there are the kunoichis who think that I'm being given to you as some sort of Konoha bride!"

Gaara had to stifle a snort at the last statement.

"I'm just so glad that Ino isn't in this Division. She's going to blow all the rumours out of proportion and the next thing you know, whenever I have to go into your tent, everyone will automatically assume we are… you know…" she linked her 2 index fingers.

If Gaara had any eyebrows, they would have crawled right up into his hairline by now.

Anger spent and deflating slightly, she looked down at her feet and muttered, "I'm not someone special. I'm just here to perform my duty as your personal medic."

Gaara waited until he was sure that she had nothing else to add, then interjected, "That is where you are wrong, Sakura. Being the personal medic to a Kage is a huge responsibility, as I'm sure Hokage-sama must have told you. You are immediately ranked within my inner circle of trusted shinobis. And as your primary duties are to the Kage, any other tasks that you might find yourself wanting to do will be deemed unworthy of your personal attention. Baki was simply acting according to protocol."

Sakura blinked owlishly. That was probably the most words that Gaara had ever said to her in one sitting.

"Oh!"

Sakura reached into her pouch and pulled out a piece of paper. It was somewhat crumpled from having been jostled around, and she quickly smoothed it out before holding it up.

"Gaara, we need to address your dietary intake."

Gaara sighed – he should have known that this issue would come up sooner rather than later.

"Everything looks okay – there is a good amount of carbohydrates and proteins, which are essential for a field combatant. In fact, your menu looks like everyone else's'," she gave him a pointed look, "And that's a problem."

Gaara tilted his head slightly, encouraging her to continue speaking. He had requested to not be treated differently from his shinobis, and at least the kitchen staff was willing to concede to him on this matter.

"You specialise in chakra-intensive ninjutsu, and there is not enough chakra-replenishing food in your daily intake."

Ah, his sand.

"I can assure you that I won't be frivolously using my sand to build little sandcastles, Sakura. There is hardly any need to modify my menu, seeing how I've managed to use my sand without any trouble in various combat situations over the years."

_Alright, so he's sensitive about his sand. I can work around that._

"Gaara, we're talking about a war here. You are going to be facing sustained combat situations. You may not have time to replenish your chakra, so we need to build up your chakra reserve as well as replace it whenever possible," Sakura reasoned.

"You said 'we'. Does this mean you're going to be force-feeding me those foul-tasting herbs if I don't co-operate?" he practically glowered at her.

Sakura could not help the grin that broke across her face. So it was just a matter of him hating the taste of chakra-replenishing herbs.

Her grin was making Gaara suspicious. Of what, he wasn't sure. But he was definitely suspicious. Grinning kunoichis usually spelt trouble ever since he hit puberty, for some reason.

"It can brew it into a tea, and we can mask the taste with honey. You will still get the full effects of the herbs without having to consume them raw," Sakura smiled, "Will that be acceptable?"

"And suppose someone were to slip poison into the tea before it is brought to me?"

Sakura had to stop to ponder the possibility of such a scenario. It was true – as the Regimental Leader, Gaara would make an especially tempting target for any shinobi or even civilian looking to add a feather to their cap. And as his personal medic, if Gaara was to be poisoned on her watch…

"You do not have to worry about that, Gaara. I will _personally _brew your tea, and I will bring it to you directly every night without taking me eyes off it even for one second," Sakura assured, "After all, my reputation as your personal medic is at stake here. No one will be able to harm you through something as cowardly as poisoning your food."

Gaara found himself smiling along with her in spite of their topic of discussion. Poison? Really? Then he recalled Naruto once telling him about how Sakura would often spend hours in the library, reading some of the most incomprehensible medical tomes and then recounting her new-found knowledge to him with just a little too much enthusiasm. And usually over a meal, no less.

"Very well, Sakura. Your proposal is acceptable, and I shall look forward to testing your culinary skills tonight."

It was only after he left that Sakura realised she had just pretty much agreed to pay nightly visit to Gaara's tent. And after she had voiced her concern about people misunderstanding their relationship, no less.

Sakura hoped that the pillow had muffled her scream sufficiently.


	4. Chapter 4

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

* * *

><p>At precisely ten o'clock that night, Sakura found herself standing at the entrance of Gaara's tent, a tray holding a teapot and a cup balanced on one palm. There was only one problem.<p>

How was she supposed to announce her presence to Gaara without resorting to yelling for him, seeing that tents didn't come with doors or knockers of any sort?

She was saved from frying her brain cells when the flap of Gaara's tent suddenly opened towards her, and Sakura found herself staring right at the redhead who was holding the tent flap up with effortless grace.

Quickly, she came back to herself and lifted the tray slightly to draw Gaara's attention to it. He nodded and stood back to let her inside, hand still holding the tent flap up.

Sakura had to fight the urge to scoot right into the tent – it was simply below Gaara's station to hold a door or its equivalent for her. She mentally reminded herself that if she spilt the tea all over Gaara's nice carpet, she would look ten-times the fool.

She ended up practically goose-stepping into Gaara's tent, which made her more self-conscious than ever. Consciously avoiding glancing around, she headed straight for Gaara's table to set the tray down.

Except she was thwarted by the mountainous stacks of scrolls and paper that covered every inch of Gaara's desk. Her eyes widened at the volume of paperwork Gaara was doing at this hour.

Meanwhile, Gaara had joined her at the table and was shifting the documents around to make a place for her to place the tray. When a patch of wood was finally visible, he looked at Sakura as he gestured towards it.

Still very much conscious of all the papers surrounding them, she set the tray down carefully. Gaara lifted the lid of the teapot and took a sniff at the contents, brows furrowed thoughtfully.

"I can still smell the herbs, Sakura."

She had to glance around a stack of scrolls to see him, and Gaara did not look excited at the prospect of drinking the concoction before him.

She shrugged, "Well, I only promised that I'll make it taste better. I can't do anything about the smell without killing off the active components of the herbs. So you're just going to have to take it as it is."

Glaring at her out of a corner of his eye, Gaara filled the teacup, raised it to his lips, scrunched his nose, and downed it as if to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Sakura felt somewhat insulted. It was as if he was implying what she had brewed was barely fit for human consumption, but she wisely held her tongue.

Gaara looked down at the now-empty cup, then smacked his lips thoughtfully. And once more, just to be certain. Finally, he placed the cup down and looked at Sakura.

"It still smells terrible."

Translation: _I__ can__ stomach__ it,__ but__ I__'__m__ going __to __gripe __about__ something__ you__ can__'__t__ do__ a__ thing __about__ anyway._

"Too bad, Gaara – no one said taking medicine was a pleasant thing to begin with."

Gaara frowned, then stated, "I can add your nightly visits to my list of things I wish to avoid daily."

If only.

Sakura grinned, "You mean, like the stacks and stacks of paperwork a Kage has to do?"

"I should have delegated the overseeing of the village to someone else while we are at war. But both my siblings are at the front, and there are few others I trust enough to watch over Sunagakure," Gaara grumbled as he sat down and reached for some papers.

Sakura surprised him when she boldly pulled up a chair and sat herself down next to him. She reached for a nearby brush and began scanning over a scroll.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"There's no way you can finish all these by yourself, and tomorrow morning you need to address the entire army. Two pairs of eyes work faster than one," Sakura reasoned.

Gaara frowned even harder at her. "These are sensitive documents pertaining to my village, and you're a Konoha Shinobi. Do you see a problem here?"

She countered his frown with a sickly-sweet smile of her own, feeling slighted that Gaara had suspected her of ulterior motives. "I've been doing Tsunade's paperwork for her ever since I was twelve. I've seen and memorised the colour-coding of the documents and scrolls from all the Hidden Villages, and know which ones are politically sensitive. Those I will leave untouched."

"Does that mean you forge her signature as well?" Gaara asked sarcastically.

"Actually, I've gotten pretty good at it. I don't think you can tell which documents have been signed by me, and which ones by shishou herself anymore."

Gaara quirked a non-existent eyebrow at her, then mumbled, "I am going to have to double-check the documents from Konohagakure from now onwards. Someday, I might completely miss a clause stating that the Kazekage has to henceforth arrive in Konohagakure wearing nothing except his hat."

Sakura's only reply was a tinkling giggle.

In the end, though, the joke was on her. Gaara refused to stop working until he had an empty table, and Sakura did not have the heart to abandon him despite her years of steadily growing hatred towards paperwork. So she dutifully sat next to him, passing him documents to sign after summarising them for the better part of the next four hours.

It was either Fate or coincidence, or maybe the world just had it out for her. Because when she finally left Gaara's tent, stretching and stifling the yawn, the changing of the guard was taking place. Half the shinobis stared at her as she emerged looking exhausted from the Kazekage's tent, and the other half just snickered. Having been so mentally drained, it took a moment for Sakura to put two-and-two together to figure out why everyone was looking at her like she had grown a second head.

That moment was all she needed.

Sakura don't think she ever ran so fast in her life as she dashed into her own tent. And screamed into her pillow again.


	5. Chapter 5

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

In addition, my thanks to **Just Spike** for her review - it's reviews like these that let me know I'm on the right track with this story.

* * *

><p>She was not nervous, she told herself. But it was hard not to feel intimidated when standing among 80,000 elite shinobis, every one of whom was primed for the war. Plus, her sudden deployment shift from the 3rd to the 4th Division meant that she had to re-orientate herself with her new comrades. Sakura tried to locate Shikamaru by his chakra signature, knowing that he was Gaara's Proxy Commander in his Division. At the very least, he was a familiar face.<p>

She was distracted from her search, however, by a hand laid on her shoulder. Sakura didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Ino-pig."

"Forehead-girl."

It was just their average, everyday greeting to each other. With Sasuke out of the picture, their rivalry had over the years mellowed back into some semblance of their childhood friendship. Including the use of childish nicknames.

Ino leaned her full weight against Sakura's side, a Cheshire grin lighting up her face as she drawled out – "So, I heard this rumour…"

She should have known. The gossip train would never cease running, not even for a war.

But Sakura would not let herself be goaded into speaking first, and Ino knew that for a fact. So the blonde went straight for the jugular.

"Seems like someone was caught sneaking out of the Kazekage's tent last night, looking completely ravished and worn-out," Ino tapped her lower lip thoughtfully, "I wonder who that could be…"

Nope, not going to rise to the bait.

"Some of the guards reported that the person in question was distinctly female. Oh! And that she had short, pink hair! Do you happen to know anyone that fits that description, Sa-ku-ra-chan?"

Sakura sighed dramatically, "Fine, Ino-pig. It was me. And I was up late helping Gaara with paperwork, not knocking boots with him."

"Oh, so it's just 'Gaara' now. No more 'Kazekage-sama' for his personal medic-slash-lover?" Ino waggled her eyebrows at Sakura suggestively.

Sakura realised her slip a little too late, so the only thing she could do was salvage it and hope she didn't scuttle the rest of her boat in the process.

"He didn't want the formality. And we've known each other since, what, twelve?"

"Yeah, when he tried to kill you, but somehow did not. And now you're playing private nurse to him when we are about to embark on the 4th Shinobi War. I think it makes for a perfect setting for a wartime romance story, don't you think, Forehead-girl?"

Sakura mentally reminded herself to burn all of Ino's trashy romance novels once they returned home.

"Tsunade-shishou ordered this as a mission. You know what it would be like to refuse her," Sakura could not help the visible shudder at the thought of turning down this mission – Tsunade would have her cleaning bedpans for a year. At least.

"Excuses, excuses. So tell me, Forehead-girl – how is he in be…"

"Ino! He's the Regimental Leader! Show a little respect!" Sakura hissed at her friend.

Ino held up her hands in surrender and took a step back.

"Fine, keep your secrets," then she smiled coyly, "But remember – on the warfront, there is little in terms of entertainment. That's why there are always so many babies born during and after a war."

Ino would have been a messy smear on the ground now, had Shikamaru not restrained Sakura with his Shadow Imitation Technique.

"Ino, get away from here before Sakura kills you," Shikamaru sighed, "And Sakura, murdering Ino will not stop the rumour mill, it will just fuel it."

"Shikamaru, you're here! Does that mean the briefing is over?" Sakura did a one hundred and eighty in her attitude and Ino took the chance to escape a certain death.

Shikamaru released his ninjutsu on Sakura and replied, "Yeah, it was just more of the same stuff. The Kazekage didn't want to leave anything to chance and wanted to make sure we memorised each others' strategies besides our own."

Then as if recalling something, Shikamaru reached into his pouch, "By the way, Hokage-sama told me to pass this to you."

Sakura held out her hand for whatever Shikamaru had to give her, and had to fight the irrational, girly-girl urge to shudder the moment he dropped something squishy and slimy into her palm.

"Katusyu-sama!"

A palm-sized version of Tsunade's animal summon looked up at her and waved its tentacles lazily in greeting. The sight of the slug made Sakura smile – this was Tsunade's way of saying that she was just a summon away if she was ever needed. She lifted Katsuyu onto her collar, and the slug promptly slithered into the warm confines of her collar.

"Oi, Shikamaru, you left the meeting so fast that you…" Temari was making her way through the crowd when she suddenly stopped and rather disturbingly, reached for a senbon tucked in her hair.

"Temari-san?" Sakura asked worriedly, seeing how the blonde shinobi was looking about to attack her.

"Sakura, don't be alarmed, but there's something really gross and possibly dangerous clinging at your neck," Temari readied her senbon.

Sakura's hands shot up to shield Katsuyu protectively, while Shikamaru reached over and pushed down the brandished weapon.

"That's the Hokage's animal summon, Temari. Why do you women always favour violence?" Shikamaru sighed. Of course, he knew the answer to that – he was surrounded by female shinobis almost all the time, so statistically speaking, he would more often run into women who are not afraid of using a little (or a lot of) force.

Still, it would be nice to have a little fantasy.

_Tomorrow's weather forecast: rainy, with a 100% chance of lightning striking down Madara and Kabuto because they just so happened to be holding hands and declaring undying love for each other. Thereby ending this troublesome war before it begins._

Shikamaru was glad that fantasies did not have to make any sense.

Temari made a sound of acknowledgement and sheathed her senbon, ignoring the way that Katsuyu was now angrily waving its tentacles at her.

"Sorry, Sakura, but after the Forest of Death, I learnt that animals of an abnormal size tend to be rather malicious."

Then Temari gave Sakura a look that was just a little too calculating.

"So, I heard about you and my brother…"

Oh, boy.

"Whatever you heard, Temari-san, just ignore the rumourmongers." Sakura sighed.

"Oh, you mean you didn't have an indecent liaison with Gaara? That's a shame. I thought for sure I would win the bet."

"What. Bet."

Temari dismissed the killing intent radiating from the pink-haired kunoichi and replied, "Kankurou and I have this bet going. I say Gaara is interested in girls; it's just that he had not found one he could stand to spend more than two seconds with. Kankurou, on the other hand, is betting that Gaara is asexual."

And really, they should NOT be having such a discussion. Not now, not ever.

"Temari-san, I really don't think this is an appropriate topic of discussion…"

"Ok, ok – but since you'll be hanging around my brother everyday now, let me know if I'm winning the bet, alright?" She flashed Sakura a winsome smile that was frankly scary at the same time.

Wanting to get this conversation over and done with, Sakura nodded before she even had time to process Temari's words. When she finally realised that Temari was effectively telling her to seduce Gaara, she whipped around to face her and was about to give the blonde a piece of her mind, but was stopped by Shikamaru.

Shikamaru had jabbed a thumb upwards, "I think they're supposed to rally the troops now."

Looking in the direction that Shikamaru had indicated, Sakura watched as the five Division Commanders emerged from the overlooking outcrop of rocks. Gaara seemed to arrive last, but it was more due to his height than anything else.

There had been some shinobis quietly talking among themselves previously, but it seemed as if the sight of Gaara had ignited something already volatile. Before she could register what was happening, a surge of sand had burst between some quarreling shinobis, and immediately her eyes were drawn to Gaara.

Sakura awaited a chiding from the Regimental Leader, but Gaara continued his streak of defying her expectations. There were no reprimands – only a confession of how he had once lived solely for hatred, and how a single Konoha shinobi had changed all that; that there was no longer a division along the lines of villages, but instead an alliance of all who called themselves shinobis.

It was when he humbled himself, deeming himself too green and far too young to lead; when he bowed and sought their strength for the coming war, that Sakura's breath hitched. By then, the arguing shinobis seemed to have found a compromise, and the uproar that followed was one of jubilant cheering for Gaara's rallying speech.

If she had to be completely honest with herself, Sakura was secretly skeptical about having the Kazekage lead the war against Akatsuki. Gaara was only a few months older than her, and there were other Kages who had wartime experience. Now she understood why Tsunade was adamant about appointing Gaara as their Regimental Leader – because a lesser man would never have admitted to needing the strength of others to accomplish a greater good.

She was shaken out of a reverie that she didn't even realise she had fallen into by a brush of sand against the back of her hand. She blinked at the contact, not quite certain what to make of it.

Temari, who had turned to look at Sakura, saw her discreetly trying to shoo away the offending sand as if they were bothersome insects, and she had to suppress a smirk.

"Sakura, the Regimental Leader has summoned you," Temari called out.

Really, she should have suspected that. But Sakura didn't get summons through sand everyday. Scrolls, the occasional shinobi appearing at her window, and a few animal messengers – that was all she had experience with when it came to being called away.

With a nod of thanks to Temari, she transported herself up to the outcrop and a short distance away from the Division Commanders. She waited patiently for Gaara to finish conversing with Kakashi before she walked up to him.

"Kazekage-sama, what…"

Sakura didn't even have time to blink. The mini version of Katsuyu had decided to make her presence known by spitting a small jet of acid right at Gaara's face. He was fortunately saved from a lifetime of disfiguration when his sand shot up and blocked the corrosive goo.

There was a very pregnant pause before Sakura found her voice again, "Katsuyu-sama, did you just attack the Kazekage?"

Gaara dismissed the sand wall and looked at the slug inside Sakura's collar. If Katsuyu was a cat, it would have been hissing and spitting by now.

"Kazekage-sama, I am so sorry. I don't know why Katsuyu-sama just attacked you! I'm going to send her back to shishou right now!"

Gaara raised a hand to stop Sakura's hysteria, and she commanded herself to calm down and take in a deep breath. She still could not erase the look of absolute horror from her face, and Gaara sighed, knowing that an explanation was in order.

"It's alright. It is I who should apologise for trying to eat Hokage-sama's animal summon."

The previous look of horror was nothing compared to the look of sheer disbelief on Sakura's face now.

"Several days ago at a meeting, Hokage-sama offered me a small version of Katsuyu-san, just like yours," he gestured to the still glowering slug, "In her own words, she said that it was 'vital' that I 'take it'."

Sakura waited, somewhat knowing what to expect now.

"So I asked her how did it taste."

Sakura paled so much that Gaara almost reached out to catch her in fear that she would faint there and then, but he fought back the urge. Sakura had every reason to be appalled that he even suggested tasting a slug, let alone a slug animal summon.

"I thought she was offering me some strange Konoha medical dumpling or something. I did apologise to Katsuyu-san afterwards, of course," Gaara explained.

Katsuyu muttered some very colourful words into the fabric of Sakura's collar, and her hand automatically slammed down over the slug to prevent Gaara from hearing any of it. The slug squelched in protest, but there was little it could do.

"I…I…" Sakura tripped over her tongue, then finally sighed and mumbled, "I have no words to describe how I feel about this misunderstanding."

"Your shishou said the exact same thing," Gaara smirked, "And afterwards, she decided that it was no longer so 'vital' that I carry a small version of Katsuyu-san with me. Apparently, she wants you to have it instead so we can relay messages through you."

"Oh, so now I'm a messenger hawk?" Sakura snorted.

"I have never seen a pink-feathered one, frankly. Are they native to Konoha?"

"Okay, now you're just yanking my chain."

Somewhere behind her, Kakashi cleared his throat rather obnoxiously.

Sakura snapped back into kunoichi mode, "You have summoned me, Kazekage-sama?"

"Haruno-san, I'm assigning you to Kakashi-san's Division for now. His Division will be scouting enemy territory, and I want the best medic made available to his team as a precautionary measure. The Hokage expects you to report for medic duties at the medic tents once the initial scouting is completed," then almost as an afterthought, "I still expect you in my tent at ten o'clock sharp tonight, naturally."

"Of course, Kazekage-sama."

"And perhaps the torture can be less excruciating this time, Haruno-san?"

Oh, he was _so_ yanking her chain, and he knew it.

Sakura smiled back, secretly cursing him in an old Konoha dialect at the back of her mind, "I apologise, Kazekage-sama, but you know what they say – it hurts because it works."

Gaara gave her a pointed look, and Sakura had to wonder exactly what sort of game they were playing. Finally, he let a smile tug at the corner of his lips before he dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

Sakura bowed, then jogged up to the waiting Kakashi. They had started walking back down towards the shinobi teams when Kakashi jabbed a thumb backwards, no doubt towards Gaara.

"So, Sakura-chan, what was that all about?"

Well, at least Kakashi wouldn't bother her with those rumours.

"Nothing at all, Kakashi-sensei. Nothing at all."

Kakashi nodded sagely, "Good to know that. I can now report to the Hokage without worrying that I have to give her news of your impending nuptials to the Kazekage."

On second thought, it was a good thing Gaara assigned her to the frontlines today. Because she was definitely going to need to kill someone. Something. Anything.

God help the first enemy shinobi she was going to encounter today.


	6. Chapter 6

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

Thanks to **Mihzuki** for helping me correct an embarrassing typo, and **Just Spike** for another wonderful review.

* * *

><p>Sakura was in a bit of a predicament. Actually, 'a bit' might be an understatement.<p>

She was currently being buried alive by the hundreds of medical scrolls and books that had decided to topple onto her cot where she was previously standing over, all at the same instant. Even with her cat-like reflexes, she did not have time to react. At least, not without damaging several priceless tomes in the process.

And how did she end up literally buried up to her neck in books? Sakura would tell you that it was all Shizune's fault.

After her first scouting mission with Kakashi, Sakura found herself reassigned to the medic tents as a full-time medic. She was not sure what was the reason for that, but it might, just _might_, have something to do with the fact that she had punched a White Zetsu clone right into half. Or more accurately, she had decimated the poor sap, sending wood-like splinters flying in all directions like lethal javelins.

Hatake Kakashi, the famous Copy-nin and onetime Hokage candidate, had no trouble dodging the projectiles. However, the same could not be said for the other members of his team.

… On second thought, she did have a pretty good idea why she was benched from the frontlines. At least until she removed the splinters from all the impaled shinobis.

For the first few days, the number of patients was manageable. Gaara was not taking any chances and insisted on gathering as much enemy intelligence as possible, be it their positions, tactics or numbers. Most of the cases she saw were not life-threatening, which meant that she had time to continue her training under Shizune.

Shizune – bless the sensible head on her shoulders – did not question her about the rumours flying about. She was too busy giving Sakura stacks and stacks of medical scrolls and tomes to study "in her spare time".

"Shizune nee-san, I can't possibly have time to read all these once we begin our offensive! I'm going to have my hands full here at the medic tents," Sakura finally spoke up on the day Shizune handed her two dozen musty old scrolls.

"Goodness, Sakura! I don't mean for you to read them all at one go – just take your time with them. We know that we'll be dealing with Kabuto, and his extensive medical knowledge combined with Orochimaru's forbidden techniques means that we'll be facing a formidable opponent. You have to be prepared for every possible jutsu and then some," and as if recalling Sakura's tendency to over-achieve, Shizune added, "Don't think about burning the midnight oil, or you're not going to be much help the next day."

Sakura, not wanting to get into an argument with Shizune, obediently left her tent with yet another armload of medical readings. When she had reached her tent in the segment of the camp where the 4th Division was, she had to stop for a moment to find an empty space for her latest additions.

She told herself to ignore the precariously stacked, slightly wobbly piles, and finally decided that the only space she had for the scrolls was under her cot. Just as she squatted down to place the scrolls, her elbow accidentally bumped into one of the many barely-standing stacks.

It was like watching everything happen in slow motion – one stack started to lean forward, swayed precariously, and finally toppled over. In the process, a few flying books hit another stack of scrolls.

Chain reaction.

And that was how she ended up halfway off her cot, her body weighed down by books that were making her sneeze from the sheer volume of dust that they had stirred up.

"Sakura, should I go get help?" Katsuyu asked from inside her collar.

"NO!" It was already embarrassing enough that a Konoha shinobi was being bested by a bunch of dead trees.

Oh, the irony.

Sakura wiggled a little, "If I can get my other hand free…"

Speaking of her hand, why was it so ticklish?

Sakura looked at her only visible hand. At the moment, a small cloud of sand was brushing against it. With a start, she realised that she must have been trapped longer than she had thought; she was always ready outside Gaara's tent with his herbal tea at ten o'clock sharp. Gaara was probably wondering where she was.

And she didn't even have the water boiling started yet.

"Shoo," Sakura said to the slithering sand defiantly.

Like that was going to do any good. Sakura heaved a sigh, and wondered if the sand's constant rubbing against her skin counted towards the weekly exfoliating session that Ino had insisted upon.

"Haruno-san?"

Oh, stars. Not him. Not now.

"Go away!" Sakura yelled out against all sensibilities. Then she coughed again.

"Haruno-san, is everything alright?"

Inhaling to reply was a mistake – her coughing fit only got worse.

"Haruno-san, I'm coming in."

Before Sakura could yell out something to deter the man outside, her tent flap was lifted and in stepped Gaara.

For a long, long moment, they simply stared at each other; Gaara at his half-buried medic, and Sakura at her statue-like charge.

Another bout of coughing from Sakura broke the tension between then, and Gaara sprung into action by summoning his sand to work at removing the piles of books and scrolls that had Sakura buried up to her torso.

"Stop!"

Dear God, she was starting to sound like a traffic warden or something.

Sand hovered around her like waiting tendrils, and Sakura forced herself to stop coughing long enough to explain, "There are some irreplaceable books and scrolls here – the sand could destroy them."

Gaara furrowed his brows, "Sakura, your faith in my ability to control my sand is practically non-existent. I have plucked kittens off trees with it."

Sakura did her best to brush aside the mental image of the honourable Kazekage in all his finery, standing under a tree and pulling kittens off treetops while surrounded by cheering children and swooning kunoichis.

"I don't care," she coughed again, "Tsunade and Shizune will murder me if I let anything happen to these books."

"From the looks of things, something has already happened to them."

"Ha ha. Very funny."

Gaara approached her, assessing the situation as he did so. Finally, he same to stand right in front of her and folded his arms, "Sakura, while the desert nights are cold, covering yourself in books is not the most conventional way of keeping warm. I am going to insist on helping you out of your little nest, and I'm going to use my position as your superior to do it."

Oh, he was not playing fair at all!

Sakura muttered something under her breath, and then finally conceded, "As you wish, Kazekage-sama. I have only one request."

"Speak."

"You cannot use your sand – only your hands."

Gaara felt his left eye twitch. Personally, he thought Sakura was behaving irrationally – his sand would have made quick work of re-stacking her documents and freeing her from their confines. On the other hand, he didn't want to be on the receiving end of her infamous ire, as Naruto had told him about on several occasions. On one such said occasions, Naruto had greeted him while sporting a black eye that he claimed the Kyuubi couldn't heal supernaturally.

And more recently, based on Kakashi's report on their first day of scouting enemy territory, he learnt that Sakura's strength was not to be underestimated.

Knowing that the sooner he started, the sooner they would get out of this ridiculous situation, Gaara reached over and began to remove the books trapping Sakura's upper body.

"And please put the books over there," she gestured with a twist of her neck.

Gaara could have sworn that Katsuyu was laughing at him, but one could never tell unless they were well-versed in the language of tentacle-waving.

* * *

><p>Once Sakura was freed from a possible death by books, Gaara told her to move into his tent for the remainder of the war.<p>

Sakura was startled by the offer, to say the least. However, any protests she had about his offer died in her throat when he began to list the reasons for suggesting so.

One – her tent was simply too small for her needs.

Two – trying to clear the tent will simply mean risking another landslide of books, so she was better off turning the tent into her medical library instead.

Three – it would simplify things for her, since she was already spending the better part of each night helping him with his paperwork. There was no point in them having separate quarters if she spent almost all her time at the 4th Division in his tent.

"It would not be proper!" protested Sakura.

"And yet the richer civilians and daimyos whose private nurses share their quarters do not have their reputation called into question."

Sakura rubbed at her temples and gritted her teeth. It was too late at night to really come up with a good argument. Gaara, on the other hand, had many years of practice at staying awake for nights on end, so he still had his wits about him.

"That is where you are wrong, Gaara. There is plenty of gossip about their pretty nurses and the 'extra' services they perform for their lords." Sakura shuddered at the idea of being thought of as one of these special aides.

"My conscience is clear, Sakura. And so is yours. How is this different from bunking with your male teammates when you are traveling in the wilderness?"

_Because they are my friends. Because I trust them. Because I know they won't do anything disrespectful to me._

With a start, Sakura realised that whatever she had just said in her mind applied to Gaara as well. Gaara was a friend, civilians and shinobis alike trusted him with their lives, and the thought of Gaara trying to make a move on her was just… weird.

With one last mournful glance at her jumbled piles of books, Sakura walked out of her tent. Gaara took that as a sign of her consent, and followed after her.

Still, she hesitated at the front of his tent, even when he had held the flap back for her.

"Can I request for another tent?" Sakura gave one last attempt at weaseling of this new sleeping arrangement.

"Haruno-san, we have deployed all our available resources at the other Divisions in preparation for offensives. I'm afraid that is not possible for the time being."

Sakura groaned mentally and finally crossed the threshold into Gaara's tent. She could not explain away the odd sensation that she was getting into something bigger, but after battling with her books and bickering with Gaara for the past hour while they worked together to free her, all she wanted to do was to sleep.

Speaking of sleep… there was only one bed in the tent.

"Gaara, where do I sleep?"

He looked surprised at her question, "On the bed, of course."

Sakura quickly shook her head, "That's completely out of question, Gaara. You are the commanding officer and you require a proper resting station. Perhaps I can get some cushionings and…"

"Sakura, there is no way I'm going to let a lady sleep on the floor."

Well… that was just fantastic.

The flap of Gaara's tent moved, and Sakura spun around, hand already positioned at her holster before she realised that it was Baki entering the tent.

"You summoned me, Kazekage-sama?"

"I require an extra bed for Haruno-san. Her previous sleeping quarters are… unfit for use."

"I can arrange for a cot for tonight, Kazekage-sama. A proper bed shall be sent for tomorrow," Baki suggested.

Gaara nodded, and Baki left to rummage up a spare cot. When he turned around to look at Sakura, he found her positively seething.

"Gaara, I'm a kunoichi! I do not require the extravagance of an actual bed, not when we are at war!"

"And I am a shinobi, yet they insist on giving me a proper bed."

"That's because you are the Regimental Leader!" she all but yelled out.

Gaara crossed the tent and stood right in front of her so suddenly, Sakura could have sworn she never saw him move at all.

"Haruno, you are precious to Naruto, and therefore, important to me. And I will not have those important to me settling for less than they should," his tone was passive, but it bode no arguments.

Sakura was not certain if she should be flattered or not. So Gaara saw her as something of Naruto's to protect? It was very chivalrous of him, and at the same time, very demeaning towards her standing as a capable kunoichi.

Not to mention, she was not Naruto's possession, dammit!

Baki's return was surprisingly quick. In a flash, he had the cot set up opposite of Gaara's bed. Gaara nodded his approval, and it was all Baki needed to be dismissed.

Sakura walked rebelliously towards the cot and plopped herself on the edge of it. Then she lifted her gaze to meet Gaara's.

"Gaara, you are a very, very stubborn person."

"Likewise, Sakura."

Still feeling self-conscious, Sakura slipped off only her sandals before tucking herself into the cot. Her back presented to Gaara, she was fully clothed and she was completely ready to fall asleep while Gaara spoke up.

"By the way, Sakura, weren't you supposed to be giving me more of that aromatic tea?"

Darn it.


	7. Chapter 7

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

Thanks to **Just Spike** for letting me know what clicks with the readers. Keep those comments coming!

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><p>Sakura could not fall asleep, try as she might.<p>

After going through the routine of making Gaara take his chakra-enhancing tea followed by assisting him in his paperwork while they discussed war strategies, things almost felt normal again.

Until she remembered exactly where she was supposed to sleep afterwards.

Gaara had given her a concerned look when she stopped writing mid-stroke, her brush hovering over a scroll. He reached over to tap her gently on the shoulder, and she shot up from her seat so quickly that it looked as if she had jumped an extra two feet into the air. Sakura giggled sheepishly, brushed off his questioning gaze, and resumed working with her lips thinned into grim resignation.

Once the table was cleared for the night, Gaara pointed her to a screen at the back of the tent and excused himself for some fresh air. Sakura was grateful that he was at least gentlemanly enough to give her privacy to prepare for bed.

Except now it was two hours later, Katsuyu had long fallen into a gentle slumber inside her combat jacket that she had hung over her cot, and she was still wide awake.

She chanced a glance towards Gaara, her eyes now having adjusted to the darkness. She could make out his form slowly rising and falling, as if he was already well into slumberland. However, Tsunade had told her of Gaara's habit to meditate in place of sleeping, so Sakura subtly probed at the chakra within the tent.

No good – he was either in REM sleep, or in a deep meditative state. Tsunade had explained once that it was hard to tell the two mental states apart unless one was in physical contact with the subject, and Sakura was not about to be accused of feeling up the Kazekage in the middle of the night.

She really needed to go to sleep now, Sakura told herself. She had to be up in less than three hours if she wanted to squeeze in at least an hour of studying, and Gaara had hinted that they might break camp within the next few days when they begin an all-out offensive against Akatsuki. There was a lot to do before that.

Sakura tried turning over to see if a new position would help her sleep better, and she barely stopped herself from yelping out loud.

The metal frame of the cot was _freezing_.

As if noticing it for the first time, Sakura realised how much colder it was inside Gaara's tent than it was compared to her own. She sat up and rubbed at her arms, a little surprised to see a puff of her warm breath appearing before her.

It must have been all her scrolls and books – lined against the walls of the tent, they had also doubled as buffers against the cold desert nights.

Briefly, she envied Katsuyu who was curled up all warm and safe inside her jacket. There was no way she could wear her combat jacket to sleep – the thick, rigid paddings inside would practically guarantee her a backache the next morning.

Sakura quietly sat up from the bed, glancing once more at Gaara to make sure that he was asleep, then finally placed her feet on the _icy_ floor before standing up and making a break for the flap of the tent.

"Sakura, what are you doing?"

Sakura froze mid-step. Busted. So he was meditating after all.

She turned around to look at Gaara, who had not moved at all from his position, then replied, "I'm going to get an extra coat or something from my tent. It'll be real quick – they are… directly… under… my… cot…"

Sakura had to fight the urge to smack herself in the forehead. Before she had even finished her sentence, the image of her book-buried cot in her own tent had flashed vividly in her mind. After they had clear a path out of her tent, she had agreed with Gaara that they would have to leave the rest on her cot for tomorrow as it was already late. There was no way she would be able to get to those items without literally mining for them.

"Sakura?"

"It's freezing in here!" She whisper-shouted to Gaara, and rubbed at her arms for good measure.

It was impossible to read the nuances of Gaara's facial expression in the dark, but she suspected he was most likely smirking.

"Here."

Gaara's bed creaked under his weight, and the sound of fabric rustling followed. A large object came flying right at her, and Sakura instinctively caught it. It took her a moment to register that she was holding Gaara's robes in her hands.

She promptly dropped it like a hot potato.

"Gaara, did you just _strip_ and give me the robes off your back?" Sakura was not going into hysteria for this; logically speaking, even if he did just give her the clothes off his back, there was no way she could see his nudity in the dark.

That, however, did not mean that he was any less naked.

Gaara only reply was a chuckle – "No, Sakura. Those are my spare set of robes. Just put them on and go back to sleep."

Still a little leery, Sakura never took her eyes off Gaara's form as she knelt down and picked up the robes. The coolness that radiated from the fabric indicated that Gaara seemed to be telling the truth – a recently worn garment would have trapped some body heat at least.

As she slipped them around her shoulders, she instantly understood the meaning of 'bliss'.

Gaara's robes were incredibly cozy.

She should not have expected less for the Kazekage's wardrobe.

"Thank you."

Gaara's only reply was a grunt. Sakura slipped back into her cot, pulling the robes a little tighter around herself and smiled; she would never underestimate the value of a good jacket ever again.

For a while, all was quiet in the tent again. Then Sakura found herself talking aloud to no one in particular. Or maybe just to a certain redhead.

"Back in Konoha, I have a cat named Harumi. She likes to sleep against my neck at night. I appreciate the attention, but not so much during summer," Sakura sighed wistfully, "It would be so nice to have her with me right now, helping me sleep with her purrs."

There was no response from the other end of the tent, and Sakura assumed Gaara was either asleep or ignoring her.

So imagine her surprise when a feline-like shape materialised suddenly near her chest, softly rumbling as it padded closer to press its sandy body against her neck.

Sakura was so shocked that she did not know how to react to the sand-cat that Gaara must have conjured up for her. Tentatively, she reached out for the sandy feline, and it immediately arched its back into her hand to ask for a pat. The grainy texture felt strange against her fingers, but it was not uncomfortable. In fact, it felt oddly soft, almost like talcum powder.

The sand-cat rubbed up against her face and neck, a rumble emitting from its chest region. That made Sakura giggle. Gaara must have had some experience with owning a cat, seeing how feline-like the sand creature was behaving.

She reached up to rub the sand-cat behind the ears, and declared playfully, "I'm going to name you Mr. Fluffy-kins."

The cat de-materialised and shot back into Gaara's gourd so quickly that his gourd rattled violently.

Gaara turned over and gave her what she assumed was a pointed look from across the tent.

"Did you just scare my sand?"

"I was just teasing it," she pouted.

Gaara sighed, and the sand-cat appeared once more on Sakura's bed. This time, it did not approach her so readily, so Sakura had to reach out to pick it up and carry it into her arms as she laid down.

"Go to sleep, Sakura," Gaara muttered as he pulled his covers up a little higher.

And she finally did, lured to sleep by the sand-cat's warmth and rumbling purrs against her chest.


	8. Chapter 8

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

Thanks to **Just Spike** for another great review - guys, don't feel pressured to leave long reviews! And to **Mihzuki** for helping me with a couple of typos. This is what happens when you fly solo without a beta.

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><p>At precisely seven o'clock the next morning, Sakura's internal body clock woke her up. Yet for the first time in a very long time, she did not feel the urge to kick herself into high gear, because her covers were so, so comfortable…<p>

Wait.

Sakura's eyes flew open as the events from the previous night came rushing back to her all at once. It took her several moments to process that it was not the covers she was snuggling into, but the _Gaara__'__s_ robes. And the purring creature at her neck was not Harumi – it was Mr. Fluffy-kins.

_I will not scream, I will not scream, I will not scream…_

She willed herself to turn towards Gaara's bed, and was surprised to find it already neatly made. In fact, Gaara did not appear to be in the tent at all.

Shrugging off the robes, Sakura was about to head off behind the screen for her morning routines when she heard someone talking near the flap of the tent. She could not immediately place whom the voice belonged to, but Gaara's soft-spoken reply was unmistakable.

Somehow, Sakura's feet had carried her close to the tent's entrance, and it was just too tantalising to not eavesdrop.

"… where my spare cot went to."

"Now you know," replied Gaara.

"I thought it was really weird when Baki came to my tent last night asking me for it. I was doing some maintenance work for Crow on it. I had to clean it up really quickly for him because he said it was 'very important' that he had my spare cot there and then." There was a pause, "And you're telling me that you have Sakura sleeping on it right now?"

_Crow… that means that the cot came from…_

"Kankurou, you cannot honestly tell me that your puppet needs that cot more than my medic."

"No, but what I can't understand is why does she have to move into your tent with you. Haven't you heard all the gossip already? I'm starting to wonder if I should believe in them as well."

"You wish to know why she can't use her own tent?" There was a brief silence during which Kankurou presumably nodded. "See for yourself."

"Ok, I will."

Kankurou's footsteps moved away from the tent entrance and in the direction of Sakura's tent, and Sakura flinched internally, knowing just what was about to happen.

"Son of a…!"

Whatever else Kankurou was going to say was cut off by a tremendous crash, followed by the sound of a ton of paper and hardcovers hitting fabric and floor.

Kankurou's colourful cursing that came soon after was yelled out in two different Sunan dialects, included three forms of less-than-tasteful body functions, and invoked four generations of Gaara's ancestors.

Her precious medical tomes at stake, Sakura came rushing out of the tent. Gaara appeared unsurprised to see her, although he did raise an invisible eyebrow at her slightly rumpled appearance.

"Kankurou, you better not destroy any of my books!"

Sakura marched up to the tent and pulled back the flap, only to uncover a stunned-looking brunet half-mauled by some of her heaviest books. With a huff, she reached down, grabbed him by the collar with both hands, and heaved him out of her tent.

Kankurou landed with a dull thump at Gaara's feet while Sakura dusted her hands off, the anger in her eyes unmistakable.

"You're right, Gaara – that tent is unlivable," Kankurou spoke around a mouthful of dust and random debris.

Gaara's sand flowed around Kankurou and lifted his older brother back up to his feet. By then, Sakura had returned to stand by her charge's side, still looking a little cross. The puppet master looked from her, and back to Gaara.

"You know, this is really going to fuel the rumours about the two of you. Haven't you heard of the 'special services' private nurses provide to the rich lords and…"

"We know," Gaara and Sakura chimed simultaneously. This was seriously getting old fast.

Kankurou blinked, then rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Well, if you two are not bothered by it, I suppose I shouldn't interfere."

Then with a positively lecherous grin as he elbowed Gaara playfully, Kankurou quipped, "You know, the costume-maker for my puppets carries a line of sex-kitten nurse outfits. I could ask him ab… whoa, whoa, WHOA! Is that your sand around my ankles?"

By using his sand to dangle his brother upside-down like a piece of meat and carrying him back to his own tent, Gaara had unknowingly saved him from a near-death experience at Sakura's hands, judging from the way she had her fists clenched.

"Kankurou-san wasn't like this when we met two years ago," was all Sakura could say about the entire encounter.

"People change," Gaara then deliberately swept his eyes over her body from head to toe, "And you should, too. You are accompanying me to a war council meeting in less than an hour's time"

With a squeak of realisation, Sakura threw her arms around herself protectively and darted back into Gaara's tent to slip into more shinobi-approriate clothings. After all it would not do to have the Regimental Leader's personal medic appear in front of the Kages and senior counsel members in just an old t-shirt and her shinobi pants.

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><p>Throughout the meeting, although she was under Gaara's direct command, she made a conscious decision to stand by the Hokage's seat together with Shikaku and Inoichi. If Gaara was bothered by her decision, it didn't show on his face at all.<p>

Then again, Gaara had always been a hard person to read.

Nobody took any notes or minutes during the meeting – it might fall into the wrong hands. The Kages and their military specialists were finalising the details for their first offensive, a large map of the Five Great Countries taking centre place on the table that they were seated around.

It was a completely foreign feeling to Sakura – discussing military tactics and strategies for an impending all-out war against the Akatsuki in such subdued tones. They might have been talking about what to have for lunch, except for the tension in the room; it was thick enough to cut with a knife.

The five Kages rose from their seats the moment their dialogue concluded. Sakura was about to head towards Gaara when she was stopped by Tsunade's hand on her shoulder.

"Shishou?"

Tsunade's expression was grim, "Sakura, I know you are officially Gaara's personal medic, but he is also the 4th Division Commander – a Division that consists of long-ranged combat specialists. You, on the other hand, are a close-range fighter. Gaara may decide to deploy you to a different Division for overall effectiveness; I cannot imagine him keeping a medic by his side at all times. You are a very powerful medic and fighter, so you may find yourself sent on some of the most dangerous missions."

"Shishou, what are you trying to say?" Sakura's brows knitted in confusion.

She nearly squeaked in surprise when Tsunade enveloped her in a crushing, yet somehow motherly hug.

"I'm saying, stay safe, Sakura."

Surprised but touched by Tsunade's concern, Sakura looped her arms around her teacher's neck and returned the embrace just as fiercely.

"I promise, shishou."

For the first time, the war felt _real_.

Gaara, who was accompanied by Baki and his siblings, paused to take in the scene. He caught the look that Tsunade was throwing his way.

_Make sure my Sakura stays safe._

He tilted his head in the slightest of acknowledgement, and Tsunade finally released Sakura from her arms. Sakura then made her way back to Gaara, the back of her left hand brushing her eyes as she did so.

Gaara did not comment on her actions, simply nodding to Sakura for her to follow after him.

The small group continued to walk in silence. It was Gaara who first spoke up as they walked out into the sunlight.

"As long as you stay by my side, Sakura, I will stop at nothing to protect you. This much I can promise you."

If the group was silent before, they were now deathly silent.

It took Gaara a second to realise that everyone had stopped walking but him.

Turning around, he was met with expressions ranging from disbelief to outright shock. He furrowed his brows, unable to comprehend what exactly it was that he said which made them turn into statues.

"Kazekage-sama," Baki was the first to break the silence, "Under the correct circumstances, that would have been taken for a marriage proposal."

Gaara cast a glance at a considerably pale-faced Sakura. He certainly did not see what all the fuss was about, and he must certainly did not see how any misunderstandings could arise from his words.

"Hokage-sama has entrusted me with her apprentice. It would be nothing short of a political disaster if I let anything happen to her," Gaara smoothly explained.

"Way to make a woman feel special, Gaara," Temari frowned.

Sakura, though, looked so relieved that Gaara had the strangest feeling that he should be feeling insulted.

Kankurou grinned, "Too bad, Gaara – a Konoha bride will do wonders for our alliance."

"You guys, I am right here," growled Sakura.

"And we will still be here tomorrow if we don't continue walking," came Gaara's reply.

Murdering the Kazekage would start an international incident, so Sakura settled for 'forgetting' to add honey to Gaara's herbal tea that night.


	9. Chapter 9

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

Thanks to everyone for their reviews. If you notice any typos or other errors, please PM me instead of leaving it in a review - it looks weird once I correct the error and it's no longer there :D Also, **Greyshield**, I agree that it's not correct to pluralise Japanese nouns, but it just looks and sounds better that way, so I'm sticking to that for now.

FYI, updates may come slower as I need to catch up on the manga and we move into the actual war (wait, we're still at the preparation stages only?).

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><p>Upon returning to their camp, Gaara summoned the other Division Commanders and gave them a rundown of tomorrow's movements. Instructions were relayed to break camp by daybreak and have everyone moving at once. The Ambush Squad, led by Kankurou, will begin the offensives on the first morning after their deployment.<p>

"Intelligence has reported that we can expect to see the results of Kabuto's Resurrection Technique which he had no doubt learnt from Orochimaru," began Shikamaru, "The exact number of risen dead is currently unknown."

Then he nodded to Gaara, who rose from his seat and gave his first orders as Regimental Leader of the Allied Shinobi Forces, "You may recognise comrades and loved ones, but remember that they are nothing more than hollowed puppets – unwilling souls tied to immortal bodies. Seal them or destroy them at all costs. Do not waver or hesitate, because the enemy will not."

"Do we at least have an inkling of whom some of the resurrected are?" asked Darui.

"Yes," came Gaara's reply, but he did not elaborate any further.

Sensing that they would not be able to pry the information from their leader, the Division Commanders turned to his proxy and right-hand man, Nara Shikamaru.

_Troublesome._

Shikamaru chanced a look at Gaara in an attempt to read his expression. Almost immediately, he dismissed everyone and excused himself from Gaara's tent soon after.

When he was finally alone in his tent, Gaara sighed, shoulders finally sagging after being held tensed for so long. He lifted his hand palm-up in front of himself, his Third Eye materlising and blinking up at him. Gaara looked back at it for another moment before crushing it in a burst of sand.

He should relay the information right away – it was his basic duty as a field general.

But how do you come to terms with the fact that your own father, who had tried to have you murdered multiple times while you were just a mere child, was now walking among the living? Even if he was just a puppet; even if he was but an ensnared soul tied to an unwilling body.

Unconsciously, Gaara brushed at the kanji on his forehead.

How, indeed.

* * *

><p>Shikamaru did not walk very far after exiting Gaara's tent. He took a slow left turn to where Sakura's tent was. Usually, he might have moved off to the medic tents to find her because she should be at work at this hour, but somehow, her chakra signature was coming from within the tent.<p>

"Sakura?" He called out. It would not be polite to enter a lady's tent without first announcing himself.

There was a sound of papers shuffling in the tent, and a cough, and a slightly dusty-looking Sakura finally lifted the flap of her tent to greet him. From the look of things, she was currently busy sealing away her books into storage scrolls.

"Shikamaru? Is something wrong? Do you need healing?"

It would not be wise to discuss his concerns with her with Gaara so close by.

"May I speak with you?" He tilted his head towards Gaara's tent, "Privately?"

Puzzled but always willing to lend a ear, she nodded. But before she could step out of the tent, Shikamaru stopped her by gesturing to her neck.

"I'm sorry, but that means Katsuyu-san as well."

Sakura frowned, but did not question him. She reached into her collar to gently pluck the slug out and placed her on the floor of her tent before nodding to Shikamaru.

The young Commander tucked his hands into his pockets and headed towards the edge of the camp, and Sakura followed after him, the curiosity in her getting the better of her by the minute. A few shinobis cast them odd looks as they walked past, but most were too busy breaking camp or preparing their weapons arsenal.

Shikamaru finally came to a stop near a knot of shady trees and leaned back against it. His laid-back attitude was starting to get on Sakura's nerve, and she angrily placed both hands on her cocked hip.

"Shikamaru, what is so secretive and important that we must come all the way out here, when we should both be packing up?"

Shikamaru looked at her, unfazed by her fury; he was just too used to being around short-tempered women to be bothered.

"It's about Gaara-san."

He watched as the anger melted from her posture as she stepped forward, worry radiating from her entire being. Shikamaru would have been tempted to give the rumours flying about a little more weight, if he wasn't already familiar with how Sakura was always concerned for _all_ her friends.

"We had a meeting just now to go over enemy numbers," he explained, "As you know, Kabuto has been using Orochimaru's resurrection techniques to raise dead shinobis. Knowing exactly who these revived shinobis are will give us a huge tactical advantage because we can be prepared for their various special attacks."

"Do we know who these shinobis are?"

"That's the problem: he knows, but he doesn't want to tell us."

Sakura had to pause to digest the information. The level-headed Kazekage who had somehow managed to form an alliance among the Five Great Shinobi Nations, deliberately denying them of a crucial advantage over their enemies? It did not make any sense at all.

"Sakura, I need you to get him to talk."

Sakura blanched, "Shikamaru, are you asking me to betray his trust and go badgering him for information that he obviously does not want to share? Beside, what makes you think he trusts me enough to even want to talk to me about something like this if he can't talk to his own ranking officers?"

Shikamaru sighed, pressing his fingers to his forehead. When he lifted his gaze back to meet hers, Sakura was surprised by how absolutely serious he looked.

"I've heard that you brew him a herbal tea every night since the first day of our encampment," his solemn facial expression was the only thing stopping Sakura from leaping at his throat, demanding him to stop harassing her with rumours like every other shinobi, "Tell me – how does he drink it?"

Sakura paused, surprised by the question. Was Shikamaru feeling alright? Did he not know how to drink from a cup?

"Well?"

"He takes it straight down," she mimics swigging a cup of tea, "Then always makes some comment about how terrible it smells."

"And he does not test it for poison beforehand?"

"Excuse me? Are you implying that I intend to harm the Kazekage?"

Shikamaru held up both hands, feeling the anger coming off Sakura in waves. He didn't want to be punted halfway across the camp by an irate and very strong kunoichi.

"Sakura, listen to me first. You have not eaten any meals with him, so you probably don't know this, but Gaara-san personally tests his food and drinks before consuming them. He appears to be very proficient in poison-detection. At every meal that I've eaten with him, I've never seen him skip the testing even once."

This was completely new information to Sakura, and she could only gape at Shikamaru, "But… but his people love him! The other Kages respect him! The Allied Shinobi Forces…"

"… Are full of people to whom he owned a blood debt from his childhood," finished Shikamaru for her.

The Ultimate Weapon.

A born and bred killer.

Sakura swallowed visibly. She was getting an inkling of what Shikamaru was implying, and she did not like it one bit.

"And yet Gaara-san takes your tea straight down without doing any preliminary testing. Tell me that isn't trust," said Shikamaru.

She felt oddly desperately to find an explanation for Gaara's behaviour. Perhaps it was because Naruto was his first true friend, and since Sakura was one of Naruto's closest people, he felt that he could trust her as well?

Sakura gave that exact rationalisation to Shikamaru, whose only response was to sigh dramatically.

"Sakura, the bottom line is that he trusts you. I know you think I suspect the two of you are having a more-than-professional relationship and am trying to exploit that, but that is not the kind of person I am."

Was he some sort of a mind-reader?

"Besides," Shikamaru smiled almostly cheekily at her, "I don't believe in anything unless I see it with my own eyes. So until the day you come waddling over, swollen to the size of a small hippo, complaining about varicose veins and demanding sour cream on salted watermelon skin, I won't even spare those rumours a second thought."

Sakura couldn't help it – she grinned right back.

"You're the best, Shikamaru."

"Now don't come giving me a hug, Sakura. Or the next thing you know, there are going to be rumours about how you are cheating on the Kazekage with his second-in-command," Shikamaru smirked.

Sakura grinned as she 'playfully' slapped Shikamaru's back, "You are such a kidder, Shika-kun."

It was a good thing that Sakura had reined in her super-human strength – Shikamaru _only_ crashed through two tents and bounced off several hay bales with all the grace of a rag doll.

* * *

><p>Shikamaru's talk with her had given Sakura the strength to approach Gaara's tent, fully intent on helping him extract the information he needed. But as she drew closer and closer, some of the internal courage seemed to slip away.<p>

She had to force herself to flare her chakra once she was outside of Gaara's tent, to announce her presence. Even if she was sleeping… correction – even if she was _bunking_ with him, it still seemed odd to just walk into the tent without announcing herself.

"Come in."

Maybe it was the fabric of the tent distorting Gaara's voice, but Sakura thought that it sounded a little raspier than usual.

She entered the tent, surprised by the sight of Gaara sitting in relative darkness. The tent material did let in some light, but certainly not enough even in broad daylight. Gaara was seated at his table, fingers steepled in front of him and looking forward unblinkingly.

"Gaara, is everything alright?"

"Why won't it be?" He replied a little too quickly, still not looking at her.

"Well, you're sitting in the dark all by yourself, for one thing. And you have tensed your shoulders so rigidly that you're going to have a cramp by tomorrow."

Gaara grunted, but whether it was a sound of acknowledgement or a dismissal, she couldn't be sure.

So Sakura marched right up to him, spun his chair around to face his back, and proceeded to dig her fingers into his back muscles. She managed to get a few good rubs in before Gaara figured out what was happening.

She felt Gaara's jolt of surprise before he growled out, "What are you trying to do?"

"A tension massage," she explained, "Your muscles are all knotted up and stiff. As your personal medic, I cannot have you walking around with a muscle ache."

"My muscles don't ache," he tried to get away from her touch, but Sakura's grip was just a little too strong.

Probably a chakra-enhanced hold. And yes, that was the sound of his chair starting to splinter.

"Not yet, they don't. But keep brooding in that cramped up position of yours and you'll be hunchbacked in your old age."

"Haruno-san, I do not need a massage. Get your hands off me, or I will…"

"You will what? Kill me? I think I can give you a solid run for your money, Kazekage-sama," Sakura challenged.

Gaara tensed even further, and for one frightening moment, Sakura feared that she may have pushed him too far.

But just as suddenly, he seemed to sag completely under her touch, letting her hands work over his upper back without any sounds of protest this time. Sakura took advantage of this to give him a proper massage.

"Gaara," she began, "You don't have to face everything alone. You have all of us with you."

"I know."

They continued in silence, the only occasional sound emitting from Gaara when she pressed a little too hard into his back, and her whispered apologies.

"My father is alive."

His revelation was so sudden that Sakura's hands stopped. She had completely forgotten what she had promised Shikamaru, having been so caught up in her medic-mode.

"Gaara?" She probed, hoping for further explanation.

"Kabuto's tainted technique has been used to resurrect a number of deceased Kages. One of them is my father."

Sakura felt the air leave her lungs in a silent gasp. Naruto had hinted to her about Gaara past, though he had never actually talked about it. She did know about the Fourth Kazekage's attempts on his own flesh and blood's life, though.

"Gaara, I…"

She had no words. How could she? She was civilian-raised; she came from an intact family that loved her. She could not proclaim to understand what he must be going through, because it would be completely untrue and insulting.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, placing both hands gently on his shoulders.

Had he even been hugged before? Surely not as a child, and as Kazekage even fewer would dare come close enough for such a venture.

Slowly, so as not to startle him, her hands slid forward and she bent over to press her cheek against the top of his head. Her arms awkwardly encircled his chest from behind, the back of the chair getting in her way. Gaara had stiffened at the gesture, fulfilling her suspicions that he was not used to such a touch.

She was surprised by Gaara reaching back to encircle her waist, pulling her closer. His arm trembled ever so slightly, and she instinctively held him even tighter.

They stayed like this for an unknown period of time, the buzz of camp activities from the outside fading into the background. The only sound left in the world was their breathing, which had gradually synchronised as the minutes ticked by.

"Thank you."

He placed his other hand gently on hers before pulling completely away. The cool air in the tent came rushing towards her entire body at once – cutting and unwelcomed.

She almost missed the warmth of his touch, but she remembered their respective standings, and it was no longer an issue.

"Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"I need you to get Katsuyu-san here. I have important information to relay to the war council."

Sakura had accomplished her mission, but one thought occurred a little too quickly for her liking: she had completely forgotten that this was only an assignment in the first place.


	10. Chapter 10

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

Ok, I admit it - I LOVE long reviews. I don't think there are any fanfiction writers out there who will refuse a good, long review. Keep 'em coming and I'll do my best to keep this on schedule!

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><p>To say that the Raikage was angry about Gaara's withholding of information, even for such a brief period of time, was an understatement; he was completely furious and threw a tantrum worthy of his title. Tsunade herself was not pleased with Gaara's actions, but she knew his reasons and spent a good hour or so trying to calm the Raikage down so they can re-evaluate the situation.<p>

While the war council conferred over the new information, Gaara summoned his Commanders once more to discuss new field strategies. If Kabuto had managed to summon four Kages, who knows what other great shinobis of the past might he had resurrected to his twisted cause?

Sakura did not stay for long after handing Katsuyu over to Gaara; after making the slug promise that she would not try attacking the Kazekage again, of course. Shizune was expecting her to report for medic duties over an hour ago.

Imagine her surprise when she returned well after sundown, just in time to see the Division Commanders leaving Gaara's tent. Even if a break for dinner was accounted for, it still meant that the meeting had gone on far longer than she had expected.

It was clear that this new information had thrown a considerable wrench into their plans, and tactics had to be re-evaluated.

Shikamaru exited the tent with Gaara close behind. They had just stopped at the entrance and were conversing quietly when Sakura rounded the corner and saw them. Gaara tilted his head in acknowledgement while Shikamaru lazily waved a couple of fingers at her.

"As I was saying, Nara-san, you need to get that shoulder looked at."

Ah. She had definitely left an impression on Shikamaru.

"I'll go first thing tomorrow morning, Kazekage-sama. Right now, there is a lot of work to be done if we are to proceed with offensives tomorrow."

Gaara did not look impressed. He glanced at Sakura and said to his second-in-command, "Then I shall ask Haruno-san to heal you. You will find it easier to concentrate on your plannings."

Shikamaru looked as if he had just swallowed a lemon whole – something which Gaara found odd considering how sweetly Sakura was smiling at her Konoha comrade.

"Let me take a look at that shoulder, Shikamaru," Sakura beckoned him closer.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Shikamaru had no choice but to walk towards Sakura, lest his refusal roused any suspicions. Sakura motioned him to turn around, which he obediently did. He automatically took off his flak jacket and pulled his shirt over his head, exposing his upper back to her.

Sakura, whom Gaara had noticed to have a tendency to have small fits over people getting naked in front of her, seemed to be completely nonchalant about nudity when it came to her performing the role of a medic. Activating her Mystical Palm Technique, she ghosted her hand over an ugly-looking bruise that had purpled over Shikamaru's shoulder blade.

After a short while, the chakra glow receded from her hands, and Shikamaru heaved out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Sakura," then he leaned over and scowled, mumbling, "Considering that it was you who did this to me and all."

Sakura beamed at him, and leaned in to whisper right into his ear, "You're welcomed. And if you tell such jokes again, Shika-kun, I promise that next time, you'll find yourself so impacted into a hay bale that they'll be prying you out with pitchforks."

Shikamaru could not repress the visible shudder that ran through his body. Muttering one last "thanks", he picked up his clothes and walked off, putting them on as he did so.

Gaara cocked an invisible eyebrow at Sakura, "I didn't know that you were on such good terms with Nara-san."

"Shikamaru's team and mine often work together. Sometimes we play shogi as well," she explained, "He's a very strong opponent. I only managed to win against him twice."

Gaara nodded in acknowledgement, and walked back into the tent. Sakura followed after him, only to stop dead in her tracks the moment the tent flap closed behind her.

"Gaara. What. Is. That."

"Do you mean to tell me that you don't know what a bed is?"

Sakura could only stare at the pristine wooden-frame bed that now stood where her cot was mere hours ago. The sand-cat was curled up on it, presumingly dozing away. When she finally found her voice, she had to hold back her disbelief.

"We are breaking camp in the next few hours and you still went ahead and got a bed for me? Gaara, the cot was sufficient!"

Suddenly, another more horrifying thought struck her.

"Wait. The bed is all made, and you only just finished your meeting a few minutes ago. Are you telling me that you had it set up in full view of your Commanders while you were discussing strategies?" Sakura all but shrieked.

Gaara, for the life of him, could not see what was causing Sakura to go into hysteria. He most certainly did not have other shinobis in the tent when they were going over sensitive information, so Sakura's concerns were unfounded to begin with.

Still, it would be wise to give her a proper explanation before she destroyed the bed, if her heaving shoulders were any indication to go by.

"The sand-cat set it up for you after everyone left."

Wait… The sand-cat what?

Sakura blinked," Mr. Fluffy-kins… set up my bed for me?"

"That's correct."

"The sand-cat. He carried my bed from goodness knows where. And he assembled it and put on fresh sheets for me," deadpanned Sakura.

Gaara nodded.

"Prove it," Sakura crossed her arms over her chest.

Physically, Gaara did not move a muscle, but the sand-cat stood up as if commanded and turned to look at Sakura. It then disintegrated into a cloud of sand that obscured the bed, only to part and reveal a neat stack of wooden planks, a mattress and folded sundry in its place.

Sakura mouthed a soundless "wow".

The sand cloud swirled around the room languidly before it drifted back to the bed. In the blink of an eye, the bed was back in place, looking completely spotless and untouched.

Re-materialising, the sand-cat stretched and arched its back, then leapt back onto the bed to continue its disrupted nap.

"Are you satisfied now, Sakura?" A corner of Gaara's mouth was quirked.

Mentally, Sakura slapped herself out of her stupor. Judging from the frown now etched on her face, Gaara felt it was safe to assume that she was displeased, for one reason or another.

There was no way she could ignore the possibility that having a sand-animal padding around was a drain on Gaara's chakra. If he were to be injured or fall in battle because he had used even the slightest portion of his chakra on the sand-cat, it would be on her conscience for life.

"Gaara, how much chakra are you using to maintain Mr. Fluffy-kins?"

"None." There was no way he would ever say the cat's unfortunate name aloud.

Sakura walked over to her bed (it still felt odd, think of it as hers) and lifted the sand-cat up into a shoulder cradle. Lightly, she probed the sand-cat with a bit of chakra, and she was surprised to find that aside from the initial chakra boost that Gaara had given his sand to shape it, there had been no new injections of chakra in the sand-cat since.

The look she sent Gaara's way was one seeking explanation, so he replied, "Shortly after Shukaku was removed from me, I performed experiments to find out how much control I had left over my sand. I especially needed to know if I was still able to create and mold moving objects without having to constantly inject chakra – a tremendous drain and an obvious distraction in battle. In one of them, I created a small pack of sand-mice and sent them out without supervision. Most of them turned back into sand within twenty-four hours. The few that somehow managed to maintain their form after that period were blown out of the house by Temari."

Sakura could just _see_ Temari wielding her gigantic fan and sending a bunch of squeaking rodents flying out the front door. She could not blame her for doing so.

"What happened to the other sand-mice?" she asked.

"They are mostly running around Sunagakure, helping me keep an ear among my people. They report my people's plights and help me run the village more smoothly," then Gaara added, "My people are well aware of the presence and purpose of my sand-mice, and I've even had a few of them kidnapped by my kunoichis as pets. They all escaped in the end, though."

Sakura stroked the sand-cat's back, eliciting a rumbling purr from it.

"So Mr. Fluffy-kins is most likely to disappear tonight?" She sounded saddened by the news.

Gaara said nothing. He had made a few sand-cats as well in the past, but none of them made it past twenty-four hours on their own. He looked at the kunoichi and the sand-cat she was cuddling so tenderly, and decided that it was best not to tell her about those experiments.

Sighing, Sakura gently deposited the sand-cat back onto her bed before fishing out a pouch from her jacket. She promptly held that out to Gaara, who lifted one hand to receive it in.

"There's no guarantee that I'll be able to make you the chakra-replenishing tea every night once the war commences, so I asked Shizune nee-san to help me come up with a pill version of the herbs," Sakura said, "It works like a soldier pill, but focuses on your chakra reserves and does not come with similar side effects."

Gaara was about to make a comment about being glad that he would no longer have to smell the herbs each night when the unmistakable scent wafted from the pouch and hit him like a ton of bricks. He fought back the urge to gag, but Sakura saw through it nonetheless.

"I know, I know – it smells terrible. Just pinch your nose when you take it – I promise the taste is nothing like its smell," Sakura waved her hand dismissively.

Gaara did not dignify her with a reply, instead choosing to wrap the pouch in a spare swatch of cloth before tossing it into his desk drawer and slamming it shut. He then turned away from Sakura, arms crossed behind his back.

"Sakura, I'll expect to have the tea tonight."

"Of course, Gaara."

For the first time in over a week, Gaara did not make a single comment about the aroma of the tea.


	11. Chapter 11

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

The title of 'Kazehime' is a fandom invention, which I'm going to borrow.

* * *

><p>Sakura was once again lulled to sleep by the warmth of the sand-cat against her neck last night.<p>

Privately, she argued with herself that Gaara's robes which she had once again wrapped herself in had nothing to do with keeping her toes nice and toasty.

She snapped awake the moment she remembered Gaara's words about the sand-cat last night. Turning her head to the side, she was fully expecting to see a pile of sand where Mr. Fluffy-kins once was.

She was pleasantly surprised, to say the least, when she saw that not only was the sand-cat still curled up against her, it had even managed to turn even more cat-like overnight. When the cat got up and placed a paw on her cheek, it was looking at her with glass-like green eyes where there was once mere sand.

Sakura sat up at once, startling the sand-cat. She beckoned it over, and ran her hands down the red tabby pattern on its back; some red sand or minerals must have been mixed into the cat. Then glancing around to make sure that Gaara was not in the tent, she promptly lifted Mr. Fluffy-kin's tail and looked hard.

You know, just in case its name had to be changed to Miss Fluffy-kins.

"Gaara-sama?" A female voice called from outside the tent.

Sakura immediately threw off Gaara's robes and gave herself the once-over, glad to see that she had at least worn her shinobi outfit to bed last night. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair a few times to tame the sleep-mussed locks as she made for the tent entrance.

It took Sakura a moment to place the kunoichi standing before her – she knew that she had seen the girl somewhere previously.

"Matsuri?" She ventured.

The Suna kunoichi nodded, and gave a slight bow in acknowledgement of Sakura's rank, "Good morning, Sakura-sama."

"Just Sakura, please."

"Is Gaara-sama around?" Matsuri asked.

It was then that Sakura noticed the tray that Matsuri was carrying. There were two covered plates on it, and a pitcher of what she assumed to be fruit juice.

"It the day we break camp and move out, so the Suna kunoichis decided that Gaara-sama should get a good breakfast," explained Matsuri, "We made this ourselves, and of course, we've not forgotten the Kazekage's personal medic."

Sakura tried to read Matsuri's body language to see if there was any hidden hostility against her, knowing how much the Suna kunoichis adored their Kazekage. However, there was surprisingly none.

"The Kazekage has gone for a morning walk, but I'll be glad to let him know what his kunoichis have done for him," Sakura reached out and took the tray from Matsuri, who relinquished it without any protest.

She was expecting Matsuri to leave now that her task was completed, but the Suna kunoichi lingered, shuffling from one foot to the other. There was definitely askance in Matsuri's eyes when she finally looked up.

_Here__ it__ comes,_ Sakura internally sighed.

"Sakura, the other kunoichis and I want to know…" Matsuri had her hands clasped together in front of herself, looking uncertain if she should continue.

Ah, what the heck. A Suna kunoichi should always speak her mind, especially when it came to matters involving the opposite sex.

"Does Gaara-sama really have a python in his pants?" Matsuri blurted out just a little too loudly.

Sakura almost dropped the tray in embarrassment. This was not the most mortifying question she had even had posed to her in her entire medic career, but it certainly made the top ten.

Fighting the blush on her cheeks, she replied in as professional a tone as she could muster – "That's doctor-patient confidentiality."

It was a fib, of course – she had never seen Gaara _that_ naked. But she really, really did not want to spend another second longer talking to a kunoichi that she barely knew about Gaara's… measurements.

Matsuri grinned, "So, does that mean he does?"

"Again, doctor-patient confidentiality."

_Please __go __away,__ please,__ please,__ PLEASE __go__ away..._

Matsuri gave a little fangirlish squeal then was practically ready to skip off to share the 'news' with her fellow kunoichis when Sakura stopped her.

"Matsuri, I must admit that I'm a little surprised that you didn't ask me about the other rumours."

"The one about you being a Konoha bridal offering, the one where you are supposed to be messing around with Nara-san, or the one about you sleeping with the Kazekage?"

There goes that phrase again. And when did the rumour mill decided to spew out the one about her and Shikamaru?

"The first and last one," Sakura replied. She figured that if she didn't go off chatting with Shikamaru in private again for say, the remainder of the war, the rumour would die off eventually.

Matsuri gave her a dismissive wave of her hand, saying, "Gaara-sama is a man, and if he decides to have a fling here and there, it's only natural. By the end of the day, according to tradition, he has to marry a Suna bride."

Too surprised by her flippant attitude towards Gaara's lifestyle choices, Sakura could only stare open-mouthed at Matsuri's retreating figure.

And that was the exact position Gaara found her in when he approached their shared tent.

"Haruno-san," his voice snapped her awake and caused her to look to him, "Do you have idea why Matsuri was looking at me like I was a piece of meat just now?"

Sakura had to be contented with the fact that the blush on her face was not going to go away anytime soon, so she merely shook her head and headed back into the tent.

Setting the tray on the table and deliberately avoiding Gaara's questioning gaze, she replied, "Don't your kunoichis usually look at you that way? They are positively smitten by you."

"I do my best not to notice. Acknowledgement would only be misconstrued as encouragement."

"By the way, Matsuri and your other kunoichis made this breakfast for us."

Gaara did not appear surprised by the gesture – he merely walked around the table and took the lid off both plates. Breakfast looked to be stuffed omelette.

Then Gaara did the strangest thing: he touched his fingers to the tray and held them there, and Sakura did not need the Byakugan to know that he was channeling chakra for poison detection.

_He trusts you._

… She really did not need to remember Shikamaru's words right now.

Finally satisfied that the contents on the tray were not tainted, Gaara withdrew his hand and gestured to an empty chair.

"Have a seat, Sakura."

She pulled the chair up to sit across Gaara and watched as he started to make short work of his breakfast. Despite his passive expression, Sakura could tell that he was really enjoying it if the rate that his omelette was disappearing was anything to go by.

"What kind is this?" She asked, poking her own omelette with a fork.

"Omelette stuffed with salted tongue."

Sakura dropped her fork with an embarrassingly loud clatter. Gaara gave her a puzzled look, unsure of why she was turning an interesting shade of green.

"It's… different from what we have in Konoha," she quickly explained in an attempt to cover up her disgust, and proceeded to start on the safer-looking salad on the side, "But I take it that you like it?"

Gaara nodded, and they continued to eat in silence for a while before Sakura's curiosity could no longer be kept at bay.

"Matsuri was telling me that your kunoichis don't pay attention to the rumours about us because you're expected to marry a Suna woman," she said, "And also, you're entitled to go around having flings, including with your personal medic."

It was a good thing Sakura knew the Heimlich Maneuver, otherwise the Kazekage would have been killed by a piece of egg that became mysteriously stuck in his windpipe. And Haruno Sakura would have gone down in history as "The first medic-nin to stand by idly while the Fifth Kazekage choked to death on an omelette".

When Gaara finally recovered enough to talk, his voice was controlled, "Whatever my predecessors chose to do, Sakura, I can assure you I'm not of like mindedness."

"Men of power automatically attract women."

"Well, this 'man of power' here does not believe in sexual exploitation."

"A Kage is expected to get married eventually, though."

Gaara frowned, "It's a ridiculous notion to entertain when I am not even of legal drinking age."

"Well, your kunoichis all seem very keen to become your Kazehime."

"To further one's standing in the shinobi world?"

"Actually, I think it has more to do with your good looks and personality."

Gaara blinked at her response, and it took Sakura a second to realise what she had just said.

"I mean… your hair colour is pretty exotic. Your eyes are an interesting shade of teal. Plus, you have that whole strong, silent personality type that a lot of women go for. Not to mention, you genuinely care about the welfare of your people. Girls are completely into that sort of dedication, but only if it's directed toward them."

Gaara only response was a snort of disbelief.

"I'm too young to think about marriage," he replied, "Besides, none of the kunoichis I've met so far have managed to meet my expectations."

"Oh, so you do have a type!" Sakura grinned mischievously, "Care to share what your ideal Kazehime is like, Kazekage-sama?"

Temari was _so_ going to win her bet.

For a moment there, she thought Gaara was not going to answer her. He replaced his fork on his now empty plate, rose from his seat and strode to the middle of the tent, facing away from her. Sakura had to crane her neck to look at him.

"The Kazehime," he began, "Must be able to hold herself above all other women in Sunagakure. She will be the second most important person in the village, and will be expected to assist her husband in the smooth running of Sunagakure, which means stepping into the role of the Kazekage himself when he is away. Diplomatic skills are a must, as she will be in the presence of other Kages and their associates often. She is also expected to produce an heir, preferably within a year of marriage."

"Gaara, you only told me what sort of a woman will be suitable as the Kazehime. You didn't tell me the kind of woman you like."

Gaara smirked at her, "Why are you so interested in this information, Sakura?"

"Call it curiosity." Mentioning Temari and Kankurou's little bet would probably be a bad idea.

"Very well, 'curiosity'. She will have to be ambitious and studious, always looking to better herself. She will have to be able to take care of herself, but at the same time, she should not take offence at my desires to protect her. She has to get along with my impossible siblings," a pause, and finally, "Above all, she must be able to give and receive love unconditionally."

"I think the last condition is going to be a deal-breaker – unconditional love for just one person is hard enough as it is, and you're looking for someone who can love anyone unconditionally?"

"Not just anyone," Gaara's voice became a bit softer, "To me."

"Oh."

Sakura wasn't sure if she was expected to continue the conversation, because she didn't know what direction to take it in. Fortunately, Gaara spoke up before long.

"I am considering bachelorhood, actually. I really don't see what is so appealing about women sometimes, especially when they try to give me unwanted embraces."

Sakura giggled. Given Gaara's past, women would have been an enigma to him. He spent most of his childhood being shunned by everyone, but the moment he became Kazekage, he was suddenly the most eligible bachelor in Sunagakure. No wonder he was confused by the sudden change of attitude that women had towards him.

"What about you?"

"Pardon?"

"What is your ideal man like, Sakura?"

"Why do you want to know?" She asked suspiciously.

"Call it curiosity," he threw her line right back at her.

Well, it was only a fair exchange of harmless information. But in all honesty, Sakura had not given much thought about what her ideal man was like ever since Sasuke's deflection from Konoha – the Sasuke she met years later was a complete stranger to her. Oh, Ino tried to introduce her to a few shinobis and even civilians, but Tsunade kept her so busy all the time that she never really got around to knowing any of them properly.

So what type of man fit her ideal?

The answer came to her a little too quickly for her liking.

Sakura looked down and bowed her head, "I didn't just have an ideal – I had a specific individual in mind."

Gaara nodded in understanding, uttering that forbidden name, "Uchiha Sasuke."

"He was the Boy Genuis that every girl in the village went crazy over, and when I was placed in the same genin team as him, I was beyond thrilled. I thought we had a chance, even after Orochimaru placed the curse seal on him, but in the end, I think what Konoha and I had to offer him was just too little compared to what Orochimaru could give him. I tried to stop him from leaving on the night he deflected from Konoha, but all I got in return was a pressure point press to my back that knocked me out until the next day.

"Naruto promised that he'd being Sasuke back for me, but when that mission was declared a failure, I knew that I couldn't be that little girl who relied on everyone else for something I wanted anymore. I asked Tsunade-shishou to train me, so Naruto would not have to bear the burden of re-forming Team Seven alone. Three years later, we finally caught up with Sasuke, but all we got for our troubles was a severe beat-down."

Unconsciously, she clenched at her heart.

"And after I heard about his attack at the Kage Summit, I knew there was no turning back for him, or us. The Sasuke that I loved was gone, but Naruto was still so determined to bring him back to us. I tried to assassinate him on my own, but Kakashi had to come and save my sorry ass when I couldn't summon the will to deliver a killing blow."

She laughed bitterly at herself, "I guess when the guy you used to love tries to put a hole through your back, it's pretty much over, isn't it?"

Gaara let her relive her memories in silence, and when she had finished, her head remained bowed. The tension in the tent was thick enough to be sliced with a knife.

"Sakura," she still refused to lift her head, but Gaara continued anyway, "It was not failure on your part that led him to commit all these atrocities. He chose this path on his own. And when I fought him at the Kage Summit …"

Sakura's head shot up. She knew that Sasuke surely must have crossed swords with a few of the Kages when he burst in to kill Danzo, but to learn that Gaara had been one of those individuals was news to her.

"He could no longer see the love and friendship he had waiting for him all along. He claims that he has deliberately closed his eyes to even the slightest sliver of light," Gaara paused to look at Sakura, trying to read her expression, "Do you still think he can be saved, so blinded he is by his hatred?"

Sakura did not answer him; he didn't expect her to, anyway.

"The Sasuke I fought after five years was a completely different man – surely a different one from your once-ideal. Perhaps it is time to consider other possibilities."

Sakura nodded mutely, and Gaara was convinced that she had not heard the second part of his sentence. So he decided to give her a little test.

"Have you considered Naruto?"

Sakua blanched. "Are you crazy? Naruto is like a brother to me! A loudmouthed, ramen-chomping, annoying little brother! I'd rather date that socially-malfunctioned Sai!"

"That's the Sakura I know," Gaara smirked.

Sakura blinked, secretly impressed by how quickly Gaara had managed to turn her somber mood into something much lighter with just a single sentence. She didn't know if he was being crafty, or if she was just that easy to read.

"Consider a new ideal, Sakura, and perhaps you can tell me about him some other time."

"Really, Gaara, there are certain things you shouldn't ask a lady."

"At this moment, you are more a friend than a lady."

That was… flattering and insulting all at the same time.

"Very well, Gaara – I shall provide you with this ever so important information as soon as I can, lest we lose the war because you were too busy concerning yourself with your medic's personal life."

"Sarcasm does not become of you, Sakura," but he smiled at her anyway.


	12. Chapter 12

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

Long reviews = LOVE!

* * *

><p>The Allied Shinobi Forces had broken camp and moved out with amazing efficiency. Where a huge encampment once stood, tents were rapidly sealed away and the landscape quickly tidied over, making it look impossible to have hosted an army of 80,000 only moments ago.<p>

With three of the four primary Divisions being based on the borders of Kumo, the plan was to locate the medic squad just behind the frontlines. The scouting parties' reports have indicated that they have found an elevated stretch of land which can be easily fortified and defended from.

Gaara noted the reports, and unable to ignore Tsunade's constant reminders about how critical medical care can be in a life-or-death situation, decided that the first order of business was for shinobis of the 4th Division to help establish the medic base before they move into their battle positions in the frontlines.

Sakura knew it was not her position to question Gaara's decisions, but the way she saw it, utilising an army of over 10,000 to set up a base will only just slow things down. After the other Divisions Commanders had left the tent, she voiced her concerns and explained that it would be more efficient to have just a few specialised shinobis from each Division chip in. The task would still be completed by nightfall, and the rest of the army would have reached their destinations by then. The guarding of the medic base will be a duty shared among the four primary Divisions on a rotational basis – the only part unchanged from Gaara's original plans.

Gaara had listened without interrupting her, and when she was finally done with presenting her case, he merely nodded and told her that they would go ahead with her plan instead.

Which is why Sakura is currently running around the mass of moving shinobis, madly trying to round up some heavy lifters and building specialists and regretting her decision to speak up. As if she didn't have enough to do already.

Secretly, she suspected that Gaara had tricked her into taking on this assignment.

She wished that Yamato-taichou was here; his Wood Release bloodline limit would have made short work of setting up their base, but he has been declared missing and possibly captured or even killed by the enemy.

Sakura did not want to dwell too much on the latter possibility. He must be alive, and they would find him once they defeated Akatsuki and Kabuto.

She was now among the shinobis of the 5th Division, which was made up of small, specialist teams. Her target was Aburame Shino, whose ability to command insects would no doubt be an asset to their task. Shino had always complained about not being included in missions, so she figured that he might be willing to lend a hand. Or a few billion of them.

Someone landed with a solid "thud" behind her, eliciting a few grumbles from the surrounding shinobis who were jostled aside as a result.

"Hey, Sakura – nice puss…"

"Kiba, if you finish that sentence, you're going to spend the rest of the war with your teeth inside your kunai pouch."

Kiba grinned widely, trying his best to disguise his fear. He knew Sakura had the strength to render him toothless before his time, and he certainly didn't want to spend the rest of his life eating everything through a straw.

Akamaru, whom Kiba was walking alongside, looked at the sand-cat walking next to Sakura. He gave a bark of greeting to Mr. Fluffy-kins, who continued to walk on as if he was not below Akamaru in the food chain of life.

"Seriously though, Sakura, why do you have a cat following you around?" Kiba asked, "If you want an animal ally, I can ask my sister to get a nin-dog for you."

Sakura sighed. She had shown Mr. Fluffy-kins to Gaara after breakfast, displaying the changes to the sand-cat and demanding to know if he had anything to do with it. Gaara seemed a little surprised by the changes in the sand-cat, but calmly explained that some of his sand-mice later evolved to be more mouse-like, though not overnight. He dismissed Sakura's accusations that he was trying to make the sand-cat look more like him, what with the cat's red pattern now.

"Really, Sakura – do you think I want to add more fuel to the rumour mill?"

"I guess not, but if his eyes turn teal…" she left the rest of the sentence unspoken.

Gaara only smirked and told her to stop worrying about what was essentially a pile of sand.

"Well, Kiba, the cat simply refuses to change back to sand and insists on following me everywhere now."

"Sand?" Kiba's eyes lit up as he took a sniff at the sand-cat.

Mr. Fluffy-kins puffed himself up and glared at both dog and master.

"Whoa, you're right, Sakura – this little guy here definitely has the Kazekage's scent on it," Kiba said just a little too loudly, causing some nearby shinobis to prick their ears and start eavesdropping if they had not already, "So, can he do any tricks?"

"Just one," Sakura grinned, "Sic 'em, Mr. Fluffy-kins."

The cat leapt at Akamaru and Kiba, bursting into a cloud of fine sand just as it neared their faces. That resulted in both Akamaru and Kiba spending a full minute coughing and sneezing before the cat decided to change back and land neatly on Sakura's shoulders.

"Oh, gross. I think I still have some of your cat in my mouth," Kiba spoke around his stuck-out tongue as he viciously scrubbed his eyes.

Mr. Fluffy-kins only response was a very contented-sounding purr.

"Come on, Kiba – make yourself useful and help me find Shino."

"Okay, but you gotta keep that cat away from us."

Akamaru sneezed once more, as if to emphasise the point. Sakura giggled, and promised so while crossing her fingers behind her back.

* * *

><p>With the army currently settled down for a quick rest and recharge, Sakura decided that it was as good a time as any other to report on the completion of her task to Gaara.<p>

She was surprised to find him standing under a shade of trees, surrounded by a group of chatty Suna kunoichis. She thought he would have vanished in a swirl of sand by now, leaving his admirers behind.

Then she saw the look of displeasure that Gaara threw her way, and it made her shudder a little.

Gaara turned back to the kunoichis and said something to them. Sakura could not make out what he had said, but if the disappointment on his retreating kunoichis' faces was anything to go by, it wasn't good news to them.

As the Suna kunoichis walked past her, a few cast glances at the sand-cat still perched on her shoulders. Sakura had no trouble recognising the expressions on their faces.

Envy. Jealousy. Disappointment.

Doing her best to ignore the eyes on her, she walked towards Gaara with her head held high.

When she was close enough, Gaara crossed his arms over his chest and said quite plainly – "Haruno-san, you are a real piece of work."

Sakura blinked owlishly; there was no malice in Gaara's tone, but she was not expecting him to say that all the same.

"I beg your pardon, Kazekage-sama?"

"Parading the sand-cat around and announcing that I made him for you; are you trying to cause a revolt among my shinobis? There is talk of favouritism among the Suna kunoichis," Gaara sighed, "Are you certain that the Hokage did not actually send you as a test on my mental stability?"

Sakura made a sound of indignation.

"First of all, Kazekage-sama, I was not 'parading' Mr. Fluffy-kins around. You know as well as I do that he refused to go back into your gourd this morning. Secondly, it was Inuzuka Kiba and his big mouth that sent those rumours flying," Sakura replied, "And finally, Mr. Fluffy-kins has a name."

"It is a Most Unfortunate Name for a pet. I am calling it 'Mun' for short."

Both Sakura and Mr. Fluffly-kin wore mirroring expressions of being affronted.

"If I may interject, Kazekage-sama? Sakura?"

Both heads turned to see the Nara prodigy walking up towards them. Gaara nodded for Shikamaru to speak.

"While I am certain that Hokage-sama didn't send her apprentice to give you extra headaches, I do believe that these rumours can be used to our advantage."

Sakura cracked her knuckles quietly but deliberately while catching Shikamaru's gaze, while Gaara cocked an invisible eyebrow in curiosity.

"I usually won't recommend exploiting such a situation, but war changes the circumstances. The Suna kunoichis perceive your closeness to Sakura as a threat to their personal plans to becoming Kazehime. They will be falling over themselves to prove their worth to you during this war. As long as they continue to assume that Sakura is a potential Kazehime candidate, they will fight twice as hard," Shikamaru explained, "Surely you have seen raging kunoichis in battle."

"I have a sister, Nara-san," Gaara stated very matter-of-factly.

"And so you understand the value of a whole platoon of kunoichis out to prove their worth."

"Shikamaru, I'm starting to think that you want all us kunoichis off birth control and sent into raging, PMS-ing mode to give us an advantage in this war," Sakura said with a twinkle in her eye that promised a world of pain.

"You said that – I didn't," then Shikamaru held up two fingers, "And there is a part two to this."

Oh, joy.

"War is a tremendous drain on troop morale, Kazekage-sama. Gossiping actually gives the shinobis something else to turn their attention to when they are not fighting for their lives," Shikamaru did his best to avoid the daggers that Sakura was glaring his way, "I'm not suggesting that you validate the rumours in any manner, and certainly I won't encourage you to add more fuel to the fire. I am saying we just let sleeping dogs lie and let the shinobis think what they want to think."

"My most recent troubles were caused by a boy and his dog, thank you very much," growled out Sakura.

"You have made your point, Nara-san," Gaara replied, much to Sakura's chagrin, "We shall maintain status quo."

"By your leave, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara dismissed Shikamaru, and then turned to Sakura. She was absolutely incensed, and looked ready to chew him out.

"I apologise, Haruno-san, but you should know that just moments ago, I was being inundated with requests for sand-animals of their own by the Suna kunoichis. They were… displeased that I decided to give a kunoichi from another Hidden Village a sand-cat but not them."

Sakura snapped back into medic-nin mode, "But that'll be a huge drain on your chakra! Don't they know that?"

"Jealousy functions best without the interference of reason."

Sakura pressed a finger to her lip, looking thoughtful. Finally, she smiled at Gaara and quipped, "Well, perhaps after the war, you can go into business creating sand-pets for the people of Sunagakure."

Gaara frowned at her, but his lips slowly curled into a smile – "Your idea has merit, Haruno-san. Perhaps when I tire of playing Kazekage and wish to join to Merchants Association of Suna, I will open a pet shop in Sunagakure."

"Sarcasm does not become of you, Kazekage-sama." She smiled right back at him.

"Touché."


	13. Chapter 13

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

Incidentally, Batang May Scolio wins the 'Longest Review for This Fanfic to Date' award. Not sure what that entails, but long reviews = LOVE (once more, with feeling!).

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><p>As one of the few senior medics around, it was only natural that Sakura was part of the operations to set up the medic base. She had known this in advance, and took her leave from Gaara's side to spend the next twelve hours or so helping Shizune co-ordinate everything.<p>

Despite the guilt gnawing at her, Sakura went ahead and pulled Ino into the task as well. Ino would be much better off manning the medic base than helping set it up, and Sakura knew that only too well. She was abusing her powers, clear and simple. But after that talk she had with Gaara about Sasuke, she really needed a sounding board, or else she was sure she would go mad with all the questions buzzing about in her head.

"You know, Forehead-girl, you could make really short work of all these by using some of that crazy strength of yours," grumbled Ino.

"Chin up, Ino-pig – you're a medic, too. It'll be good for you to know the medic base inside-out in case you get stationed for shifts here."

Ino stopped abruptly, dropping the bundle of tents she was dragging behind her. She then turned to Sakura with a devious grin.

"Oh, you just completely blew your cover, Sakura; you have always been less than thrilled to have me messing around your 'territory'. Let me guess – you want to talk to me about something, right?"

Ino looked so pleased with her deductions that Sakura had to mentally count to ten while reminding herself that if she killed Ino, it would completely defeat the purpose of getting her here in the first place.

"Fine, you win, Ino," Sakura glanced about quickly and then bent in to whisper, "Can we talk in your tent tonight?"

"Of course, Sakura. Bring me your tired man-woes, your weary male heartaches, and I shall heal them all for you," Ino intoned dramatically, causing a few shinobis to look their way.

Sakura was beginning to wonder if she would be better off talking to one of the many rocks dotting the landscape instead.

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><p>By the time Shizune saw fit to dismiss Sakura for the night, the hour was already well past midnight. Internally, Sakura groaned, wondering if Ino was already asleep and that all her scheming was for naught.<p>

However, the light coming from inside Ino's tent appeared to be telling a different story. Sakura practically jogged over to the tent, only to come to a screeching halt a few steps away from it when it became apparent that there was someone else in the tent as well.

"Sakura?" Ino stuck her head out, frowning, "Geez, what took you so long? I'm losing beauty sleep over this, you know."

"Erm, Ino, if you don't mind me asking – who is inside the tent with you?"

"Hi, Sakura!" Ten Ten poked her head out next to Ino's.

That was… unexpected. She didn't remember summoning Ten Ten for base establishment duties.

"Shizune-san asked me to help flatten out the terrain," Ten Ten offered as an explanation, seeing Sakura's puzzled look.

Sakura looked back and forth between the two girls. It would not be polite to ask Ten Ten to leave just so she could talk privately to Ino – it would make it seem as if she didn't trust the Weapons Mistress.

"Sakura and I are planning to talk about guys," Ino spoke up.

Inwardly, Sakura slapped her forehead. That was akin to dangling a bowl of ramen in front of Naruto and expecting him to walk away without touching it. There was no way Ten Ten was going to leave now.

As if to confirm her suspicions, Ten Ten clapped her hands together and cheerfully said, "Oooo, a girl-talk session? Can I join? Can I? I have TONS of stuff I want to get off my chest!"

_That__'__s__ my __line_, thought Sakura miserably.

"What do you say, Sakura? Can Ten Ten join us?" asked Ino.

As if she could bring herself to say "no" and not come off as completely insulting.

"It's fine with me," Sakura mumbled as she stooped to walk into the small tent.

The tent was obviously built to barely house two full-grown man, so it was a bit of a squeeze for three teenage girls. There were some muttered apologies as they accidentally jostled against each other in order to make themselves comfortable.

Eventually, they were able to settle down. And a staring contest ensued.

No one knew who was supposed to start first.

So Ino took it upon herself to break the ice – "Ten Ten, why don't you tell us your stuff first? I think Sakura's going to toss some real heavy baggage on us, and I don't want to start things off on such a dismal tone."

"It's about Neji…"

And for the next half an hour or so, Sakura became privy to more knowledge about the Hyuuga prodigy than she ever wanted to know. One might even say that she has just learnt a little too much information to ever look at Neji the same way the next time they cross paths.

Ino, on the other hand, had just gotten at least a year's worth of gossip material out of Ten Ten. And the poor girl probably wasn't any wiser.

"And now," Ino adjusted her seat cushion so as to face Sakura, "The girl who started this whole session in the first place. Want to start, Sakura?"

Sakura sighed at the expectant looks thrown her way by both girls. If they wanted entertainment or some juicy gossip, they were in for a serious disappointment.

"Ino, when did you discover that you were in love with Sasuke?" Might as well get right to the meat of the matter.

Ino could only stare at Sakura like she had just told her a very tasteless joke. When it became obvious that her best friend was being completely serious, Ino sighed and gave her a look of resignation.

"Sakura, I was never in love with Sasuke."

Now it was Sakura's turn to look unconvinced, "But when we were younger, we…"

"Ok, Sakura, here's the thing," began Ino, "I was completely crushing on Sasuke when we were younger. In fact, just about every girl of his age in the village had a thing for him. He was so cool, he was practically untouchable, and every girl wanted to be the one to melt his ice-cold exterior and find the passion within.

"Did I fantasise about how it would be like to go on a date with Sasuke, with him whispering sweet little nothings to me? Yes. Did I scribble 'Uchiha Ino' all over my academy textbooks? Yes. Did I want to be able to brag that I've bagged the last surviving Uchiha as a husband? Yes. Did I want to tear you a new one when I learnt that he was going to be on your team? Hell, yes.

"But you know what, Sakura? It was just a crush; a silly little girlish fantasy that I grew out of. I was never in love with Sasuke. Period."

The silence in the tent was overbearing, and Ten Ten tried to clear her throat as quietly as possible.

"Erm, would this be a bad time to say that I thought Sasuke was pretty cute, too?" muttered Ten Ten.

"Yes, it would be," sighed Ino.

Sakura had been oddly silent throughout the entirety of Ino's speech, and one look at her face immediately told Ino that Sakura was completely baffled out of her brains by what she had just heard.

"I think I love him, Ino," Sakura uttered those words so softly that Ino had to strain to hear them, and then pat her ears a little just to make sure she didn't mistake what Sakura said for something else.

In the ensuing silence, Ten Ten took the chance to sneak out of the tent – she knew that this was one conversation that she should not be listening in on.

Ino scowled at Sakura's dejected expression, "Sakura, I might be going out on a limb here, but I believe you are confusing your emotions."

Sakura knitted her brows, a gesture for Ino to elaborate further.

"Your team had gone through more life-and-death situations as genins than any other team, so it would only be natural for a stronger bond to develop between you, Naruto and Sasuke as a result," then Ino added as an afterthought, "And maybe with Kakashi-sensei, too.

"When Sasuke left, it took a whole bunch of us to convince you that it was not your fault for failing to stop him, and I'm thinking you _still_ believe that it's your fault. Sasuke was determined to go to Orochimaru, and I think you knew that deep down inside of you, he would have gone eventually because of his thirst for vengeance. He had referred to himself as an 'avenger' on more than one occasion.

"You have to ask yourself, Sakura – is the current Sasuke even recognisable any more? Besides his looks, I've heard that the rest of him has changed for the worse. Didn't he put a sword through his own teammate so he could kill Danzo? … Karin, was that her name? Is that the Sasuke you want to be with?

"Sakura, we've been friends since forever, and I know what you want in a guy. You want someone who would respect you; not belittle your abilities. You want someone who would go star-gazing with you; Sasuke will probably consider such an activity a waste of time. You need someone to see how talented you are as a kunoichi and a medic; Sasuke can only see weaknesses and exploit them."

The more Ino said, the worse Sakura felt. She felt terrible because everything Ino has said so far, she had hit the nail square on the head.

Sasuke was no longer the boy she once envisioned a future with. That much she understood.

"In short, Forehead-girl, I think you've confused your guilt of letting him leave the village for love; you have confused your failure to stop him as a sign that your love was not enough to hold him back. Then you had to make a promise with Naruto to bring Sasuke back, and when that didn't pan out, it just renews that feeling of not being able to give Sasuke enough love to return," Ino summarised, "Tell me if I'm wrong."

Sakura's eyes were downcast, and her brain was working overtime.

Could she really have confused her guilt for love?

She remembered how a little part of her seemed to have died when Sasuke was nearly killed by Haku years ago, and how thrilled she was when he woke up all grumpy and _alive_. Even if his first comment was about how heavy she was.

She remembered wanting to just spend time alone with him, and how he had brushed her off by calling her "worse than Naruto" and telling her to spend more time training instead. The feeling of crushing disappointment that she had felt back then seemed so trivial now. She might not be as powerful a shinobi as Naruto, but the great strides she had made as a medic-nin and a kunoichi was nothing to be sneezed at either.

She remembered how Sasuke had brightened her day when they went to take their Chunnin exams; how his simple acknowledgement of her genjutsu and decoding skills were the best in their class had made her feel like he had always noticed her among all his fangirls. It had taken so little to have made her so happy. Now, though, happiness was found in putting those actual skills to work.

She remembered the bloodthirsty look on his face when they faced off the Oto shinobis during the genin exams, and how terrified it made her. And yet how it made her feel empowered when she was able to restrain him with an embrace.

It must have been that moment that she thought she could always placid his inner demons with her presence.

She remembered that fight between Sasuke and Naruto on the hospital rooftop, and how she would have died if Kakashi had not intervened at the last possible moment. And how the worst part of that was when Sasuke left without even checking on her after nearly killing her.

If she had to be completely objective about it, she could only draw one conclusion: Sasuke had given her nothing but grief and heartache. There had never been any indications from him that he had wanted her as anyone more than a teammate, let alone saw a future together with her.

Sakura sat up a little straighter, a new brightness in her eyes even as her lips thinned.

"I am in love, but with an idealised, impossible version of Sasuke. So what I really want is someone who embodies those qualities, and he does not necessarily have to be Sasuke," Sakura said.

Ino blinked, surprised that Sakura had managed to come to such a conclusion so quickly.

"Well, at least this proves that your huge forehead is not all bone, no brain."

"Ino-pig!"

"Relax, Forehead-girl. I'm just glad you got that out of your oversize head," Ino reached over to place her hand over Sakura's affectionately, "I can't believe you have been letting that guilt stew inside you for so many years. Now the question is – will you let go of that guilt?"

"I think I can only answer that when I encounter Sasuke again," Sakura smiled forlornly.

At the very least, it was a step in the right direction.

"Thanks for listening, Ino."

"You're welcomed," Ino replied, when flashed her a Cheshire smile, "So, are you going to hurry back to your beloved Kazekage's side now, or are you going to camp here tonight?"

At that precise moment, the sand-cat came sauntering into the tent as if he owned the place, as most cats were wont to do. Ino reached out to scratch its chin, and she managed to get a few rubs in before the sand-cat turned around to look at Sakura over its shoulder.

Without any vocal cords, the sand-cat could not meow, so it communicated with Sakura in purrs that sounded like sand rubbing against itself, as he was doing right now.

Not that Sakura was able to understand it, in the first place. But she took it as a sign nonetheless.

"I think Mr. Fluffy-kins wants me to return to the 4th Division tonight – Gaara might just skip his chakra pills if I am not there to keep an eye on him."

"Excuses, excuses," Ino gave her a look of mock disdain, "Hurry back to your 'Gaara', Forehead-girl."

Sakura picked the sand-cat up and let it settle on her shoulders before making for the tent flap. Just before she crossed the threshold, she turned her head to smile at Ino.

"Thanks again, Ino." Sakura smiled.

"Watch yourself out on the front."

"You, too."

"And, Sakura?" Ino grinned audaciously at her, "Don't forget to take your pill, Miss Medic-nin."

"Ino-pig!"


	14. Chapter 14

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

Fluff isn't my specialty, so here goes nothing! And remember, long reviews = LOVE.

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><p>The medic base was in a centralised location behind all 5 Divisions, so it was a fairly short trek to the camp grounds of the 4th Division. Sakura knew that she could have saved herself time by using a transportation jutsu to arrive directly in the camp, but protocols dictated that she arrive on foot and let herself be cross-checked by sensor shinobis as a precaution against enemy infiltration through a henge.<p>

Besides, she was running low on chakra from using her super-human strength repeatedly while erecting the medic base; she didn't want to end up transporting herself right into a river or something.

The sensor shinobis took one look at Sakura and practically swept through their inspection before sending her on her way. She was baffled and somewhat concerned that they were so quick to deem her an ally, but decided to let it pass for now.

It probably had something to do with the way the sand-cat was growling the entire time the sensor shinobis were checking her chakra signature.

Once past the camp perimeters, Sakura was greeted by the sight of a sea of tents. Under normal (well, war-time normal) circumstances, she would have gone straight for the largest tent, knowing that it would be Gaara's. However, for every fifty or so standard-sized tents, a larger one stood among them.

How was she going to locate Gaara's tent – by poking her head into every single of the larger tents? A chakra-probe would not work, because Gaara had told her beforehand that his tent was warded against it and would simply relay back false information to fool enemy shinobis.

"May I help you, Sakura-san?" A male hand was placed on her shoulder gently.

Sakura whipped around just as Baki withdrew his hand.

"Actually, Baki-san, I do need help locating the Kazekage. Why are there so many similar tents to his in this camp?"

"They are precautionary measures – decoy tents to deter any enemies from assuming that the largest tent belongs to the Regimental Leader. They will not risk attacking every single large tent in the camp just to root the Kazekage out." Then Baki added, "It's a necessity – Kazekage-sama still needs a place to hold meetings with his Commanders, and we've added a host of other protection to his tents such as an enhanced chakra-detection field, a sound barrier to prevent others from listening in to the tent from the outside and of course, a trigger-alarm that will alert every shinobi in the vicinity if malicious chakra is detected within the tent."

Sakura nodded and smiled politely, both overwhelmed and impressed by the amount of work that had gone into securing Gaara's sleeping quarters. She knew that Gaara must be fuming on the inside about all the special treatment and had probably at one point or another asked for a standard-sized tent, only to be refused yet again.

"Can you point me to Kazekage-sama's tent, Baki-san?"

"Certainly, Sakura-san. Your tent is that one," Baki turned his head as he pointed to one of the large tents in the eastern side of the encampment.

Sakura did not miss how he had referred to Gaara's tent as theirs, but she decided to let it slide. After all, there could be no arguing against the truth that she was bunking with Gaara.

"But you will not find the Kazekage in his tent right now. Or in the camp, for that matter."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "Why not? The hour is late – Kazekage-sama should be resting in preparation for tomorrow's battle."

"It's a full moon," replied Baki, as if it was all the explanation she needed.

And that… was completely cryptic. At least to Sakura.

"Thank you, Baki-san," Sakura decided that she would try to figure out where Gaara was herself – Baki probably had more important matters to attend to.

First things first: she decided to take a look at the inside of their tent. It was remarkably similar to the tent they slept in only last night, except for a chest that was absolutely overflowing with storage scrolls near the foot of her bed. It was too late to do any unpacking, so Sakura settled Katsuyu and Mr. Fluffy-kins on her bed before taking her leave.

Since Baki had told her that Gaara was not in the camp, Sakura decided to take her search to the surrounding landscape instead. It did not take her long to pinpoint that familiar chakra signature emitting from a cliff ledge. Deftly, she made her way up the small mountain, and at the same time deliberately kicked a stone or two on her way so as to alert Gaara to her presence.

She did not want to be attacked just because her arrival was unannounced.

Just as she poked her head to peer over the ledge, Gaara said monotonously, "There is a herd of stampeding elephants approaching from five o'clock."

Sakura giggled, then hoisted herself up and onto the flat ledge. Dusting her hands off on her skirt, she walked to Gaara's side, careful not to invade his personal space.

"I trust that everything has been settled at the medic base, Sakura?"

He was using her given name, which meant that they were alone.

"Just about everything important has been dealt with, Gaara. There are a few odds and ends, but the medic tents are battle-ready," Sakura replied in a professional tone; just because they were alone, it didn't mean that she could ignore the importance of the assignments given to her.

Gaara nodded once to acknowledge her words, and promptly returned to looking at the moon.

Sakura gave him the once-over, noting the tension in his shoulders. The veins on his knuckles were showing as he crossed his arms. His skin, bathed in the moonlight, somehow had taken on a pale pallor. He did not look like he was enjoying his moon-gazing at all, which begged the question of why he was doing it to begin with.

"The moon is really beautiful tonight, isn't it?" Those were the first words that Sakura could come up with in an attempt to break the silence. She silently cursed herself the moment the words slipped from her tongue, knowing just how dreadfully cliché it sounded.

"That depends on your perspective. To most people, it is a thing of beauty and mystery, but to me, it once meant a time of seclusion."

Sakura gave him a quizzical look, and Gaara mentally debated with himself if he should let her further into his past; to let her see his old self.

He might scare her away, and he found that though oddly distasteful.

"You don't have to say anything, Gaara, if you don't want to."

Sakura could see that he was trying to decide if he should explain his previous words, but seeing his knuckles whiten only confirmed her suspicions that he was reliving unpleasant memories.

It was one way of looking at things; though, 'unpleasant' really was too mild a term, as Sakura was about to find out.

"I was born with Shukaku already inside of me – my father made the decision to implant the One-tailed Demon within my mother's womb when I was nothing more than a bundle of cells. No one talked very much about my actual birth, but it was no secret that by birthing me, my mother died, damning my very existence as she breathed her last.

"No one has ever tried to seal the Ichibi in an unborn child before me. I was their Grand Experiment, and they had hoped that my birth would also herald that of the Ultimate Weapon for Suna.

"I was not a successful experiment," Gaara's arms tightened around himself unconsciously.

Sakura took a step closer, just enough to rest her hand over his gently, concern furrowing her brows. Gaara's skin was cold to the touch – chilled by the night wind. She knew that internally, he was warring with himself with every single word he spoke; he was divulging secrets that he had probably never told anyone else before. It was taking all of his mental strength for him to speak up now, and she knew that she had to let him, or risk shutting him out forever.

"The Ichibi, as my father soon discovered, could not be controlled by a mere infant. During the first full moon from my birth, Shukaku broke free from my feeble control and wrecked havoc upon Sunagakure. It soon became obvious that my hold on the Ichibi was weakest during the full moon, and for a while, my father ordered that I be kept under control with paralysing drugs – drugs that left me unable to move, but left my mind exposed to Shukaku's taunts and rage. It was not until I was around five that I was finally taken off the drugs, when I finally had some semblance of control over Shukaku during the full moons.

"Every full moon since, I learnt to meditate, to ignore the Ichibi inside my mind. But every now and again, Shukaku wanted to come out to play, or else it would not be satisfied, and it would make sure I suffered for it. Unfortunately, this tanuki demon's idea of play involved an excessive amount of blood and decapitation. I deliberately let it take over on some full moon nights; less often as I grew older and more capable of controlling it.

"Even after Shukaku was finally taken from me, I couldn't shake the feeling of unease that would wash through me whenever the full moon drew close. So I force myself to watch the full moon every month since, to remind myself that those days of uncontrolled violence were gone."

Gaara's soft exhale signaled the end of his revelations. When Sakura looked towards her hand, she was surprised to see that Gaara's hand had covered over hers in a fierce grasp, nails scrapping against her skin.

Perhaps the idea of physical contact was no longer so foreign to him, seeing how he was actively seeking it. Albeit painfully.

She could not find it in her heart to voice her discomfort nor pull away, so she simply gave his hand a reassuring squeeze back.

"Gaara," she said quietly, "All those killings, all those hurt… they were done by Shukaku. You cannot blame yourself for what the Ichibi did."

"And why not? Shukaku used my body to commit murder most foul – I am as guilty as it was."

Sakura sighed, placing her other hand over his to clasp it, then said, "But you never asked to be born with Shukaku within you. You never wanted to be a part of Suna's secret military inner workings. You were thrust into a position that you could not reject."

Gaara looked down at their joined hands.

"How do you do it?" He asked.

"Do what?" It was not Sakura's most articulate moment.

"Be so accepting of everyone, no matter what they have done?"

Gaara sounded genuinely curious, so Sakura gave him the most honest reply she could, "Because everyone has the propensity for good. You have shown yours by working hard to change yourself from a weapon to a respected Kage."

Gaara's eyes were downcast when he finally spoke again, "I never apologised for hurting you."

Sakura blinked, and then lifted her free hand to make a dismissive gesture, "Oh, it's quite alright – it will heal by itself."

"I was referring to that time after the Chunnin Examinations five years ago," Gaara relaxed his fingers but did not let go of her hand still, "When I trapped you in that sand prison."

She could see the guilt in his eyes; it was not a look befitting of the Kazekage.

"Gaara," she said, "You just said it yourself – you trapped me. You never intended to kill me. So you were in fact trying to keep me out of harm's way."

Sakura hoped her assumptions were correct.

Gaara promptly dropped a bombshell on her, "Only because at that instant, you reminded me of someone very precious to me once."

Sakura looked so stunned that Gaara knew that clarification was in order.

"You reminded me then of my maternal uncle. He used to be my primary caregiver and protector – mostly of others against my uncontrolled sand. It was the way you stood so determinedly over Sasuke that woke my memories of him."

Sakura wasn't sure if she should be insulted that her twelve years-old self was just compared to a man.

"Of course, like most of my childhood, his love for me was a lie. He had always resented me for killing his sister, and even tried to assassinate me under my father's orders," Gaara's eyes turned cold and distant, "I walked away that night with my uncle's blood in my sand."

"Gaara, I would never…" Sakura began, but was stopped by Gaara's finger hovering just over her lips.

"I know you will not betray me like my uncle did. Naruto trusts and loves you, and he is most fortunate to have someone like you to call a friend."

Consumed with guilt, Sakura could only confess how as a twelve years-old girl, she had done the very things that Gaara loathed – she had belittled Naruto time and again, besotted as she was with Sasuke. She barely took notice of Naruto except for the fact that he was a teammate, and an exasperating one at that.

"But you grew up," Gaara replied, "And it was because Naruto so loved you that he managed to defeat Shukaku in order to save you. He had someone precious to protect, so he became stronger."

Again, she was being referred to as something of Naruto's. Sakura could only sigh internally and concede that it was probably the only way Gaara could ever see her – as someone that he now had to protect in the interest of his friendship with Naruto.

Did that counted as being objectified as a woman?

"Do you forgive me, Sakura?"

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise at the about-turn in their conversation topic.

"Gaara, there is nothing to forgive. Everything that happened that day happened because of Shukaku and not you."

"But do you forgive me?" Gaara insisted.

Sakura looked down at their linked hands, then whispered, "I forgive you, if that is what you want. However, I want you to know that I have never blamed you in all these years, Gaara."

"Thank you," he gave her hand a little squeeze, and finally released his hold to resume gazing at the moon.

Sakura couldn't help but notice how the tension had faded from his posture. After a moment, she too, turned to look up at the moon.

Gaara startled her by speaking up out of the blue.

"How is Yamanaka-san?"

Her heart must have leapt right into her throat in that instant, but Sakura quickly calmed herself down and feigned ignorance, "I've not seen Inoichi-san lately, Gaara."

Gaara turned to face her, amusement gracing his features.

"I was referring to his daughter and your good friend, Yamanaka Ino."

Well, it certainly was no use hiding it from him now.

"Ok, I admit it – I abused my power and took Ino away from the 5th Division to help establish the medic base," once Sakura started, there was no stopping her, "I know you saw right through it the moment I gave you the list of personnel I enlisted for the task because you know the Yamanakas are mind-reading specialists and not construction specialists, but I did it anyway. I really, really needed someone to talk to after our talk about Sasuke, and Ino was the obvious choice because we grew up together and she had a mad crush on him and…"

Gaara stopped her from blabbering on any further by holding up a hand.

Sakura shrank into herself and peered up nervously, "You're going to punish me for so blatantly abusing my position, aren't you?"

Sakura looked so guilty with her lips quivering like a child caught stealing from the cookie jar, that Gaara had to stifle a smile of bemusement.

"No, Sakura, I'm not going to rebuke you for what you did. On the contrary, I am glad that you took the chance to speak to Ino-san."

Sakura could only blink at the unexpected response.

"I am glad, because you needed to sort out your feelings towards Sasuke before the battle. I don't want you to face him in battle and hesitate because you are confused about what he means to you. If you truly love him, then it is even more important that you do not encounter him on the front, because you don't want to have the guilt of killing someone you cherish."

"Gaara," Sakura spoke his name, their eyes meeting, "I have sorted out my feelings towards Sasuke. I don't love him."

Gaara tilted his head quizzically.

Sakura suddenly felt very emotionally drained, as if the weight of everything she had spoken to Ino about had all come crashing down on her shoulders at once. She forced herself to look away from Gaara when she spoke again, "The Sasuke that I had always thought I loved was just an idealised image of him – someone that the current Sasuke could never be. All those fantasies I had about a future with him weren't with him at all, but with someone who embodied a completely different set of traits that Sasuke never had to begin with. He was just someone that I projected those ideals upon."

When Sakura stopped speaking, Gaara paused just in case she had more to add. Once it became clear that she had nothing more to say, Gaara took a step closer.

"So, you were never in love with Sasuke."

Sakura nodded.

"You have never been in love, not ever."

Another nod.

"But you have an ideal – that's why you know Sasuke isn't the one. Is my assumption correct?"

Persistent – that was the only word she could use to describe Gaara.

"Are you really going to lose this war because you cannot live without the knowledge of my ideal man?" Sakura raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"It would make for an interesting historical footnote," quipped Gaara.

And really, "Haruno Sakura, the medic-nin who single-handedly caused the defeat of the Allied Shinobi Forces in the 4th Shinobi War because she withheld information about her personal life from the Regimental Leader, thus distracting him from his duties" was much, much worse than being possibly remembered as a "medic-nin who sat on her thumbs while the Regimental Leader choked to death on breakfast".

"I am sensing an abuse of power here, Kazekage-sama," Sakura frowned.

Gaara continued looking at her, awaiting her answer with infinite patience; Sakura knew a losing battle when she saw one.

Sighing dramatically, she closed her eyes and began counting off mentally, "Fine – first, he has to be sensitive to my needs and responsibilities, so that means I am a kunoichi first, a woman second. Second, I don't want to be treated like some damsel in distress all the time. He must let me explore my own strengths and weaknesses, and not come rushing to my rescue the instant I get a papercut. Third, and this sounds frivolous but I am going to say it anyway – I want someone who knows when to take a breather and enjoy a quiet moment gazing at the stars. There is life beyond that of a shinobi's."

It took Sakura a moment to realise that she was doing the exact last thing with Gaara, of all people.

She hoped that Gaara would not take things the wrong way.

"It is true. Sometimes we get so caught up in our daily lives that we need to be reminded that there is more beyond paperwork and training." Then Gaara gestured to the skies, "As you consider the stars, it makes you realise that there are bigger and more important things in life. It is something I quite enjoy doing on the nights when sleep eludes me."

Sakura was about the start grilling Gaara over his sleeping habits when Gaara continued speaking as if he had not noticed the change in her facial expression, "You ask for interesting things in an ideal, Sakura. From what I gather, the quality you seek most in an individual is his regard for you as an equal. It is quite different from some of the other qualities I've heard my kunoichis list."

"Oh?"

"Tall, dark and handsome."

"It's a biological drive, Gaara. I'm sure everyone wants a good-looking partner. Genetically speaking, such a pairing will increase the chance of producing offsprings that will have several advantages in life. Research has shown that tall people are more respected, for example, and are more likely to ace job interviews by merit of their height alone" Sakura offered up as an explanation, "Have you noticed how your senior council members are mostly on the tall side?"

"It makes me glad that height is not a requirement for a Kage, I suppose," said Gaara, his mouth quirking into a smile.

Sakura grinned back at him. It was different talking to someone who was not afraid to air their physical insecurities – a good sort of different.

"You're not short, Gaara."

"Just vertically-challenged?"

Sakura had to cover her mouth to stop her laughter from spilling over, but it came out as an unlady-like snort anyway.

Gaara quirked a non-existent eyebrow at her, "Speaking of biological drive, Sakura, I think you are aware that asking for a man to always treat you as an equal is not possible. After all, it is a male instinct to protect what is theirs, just as Naruto protects you."

"Oh stars," Sakura groaned, "I think we need to get this straight, Gaara – I. Do. Not. Belong. To. Naruto."

"I don't think that's how he views it."

She didn't want to discuss Naruto's crush on her. Not now, not ever.

"Gaara, did I sate your curiosity already?" asked Sakura, making it quite clear that she wanted to move off the topic at hand.

"I suppose."

"Then can we stop talking about what I want in a man, or discussing my love life or lack of it?" Sakura placed her hands on her hips, trying to look displeased, "You need to get some rest if you want to be in top fighting condition tomorrow."

However, whatever result Sakura was trying to achieve with Gaara proved fruitless when she failed to stifle her own yawn.

Gaara gave her one look and promptly began to undo the sash holding his gourd.

Sakura watched in disbelief as Gaara removed his gourd and set it down on its side on the ground, then laid his sash half on the gourd, and half on the ground.

"Sakura, you are the tired one, so I think you should take a seat," Gaara gestured to his gourd.

Sakura, though, looked as if she had just been asked to run a kunai through the Kazekage.

"Gaara, are you crazy? There is no way I am going to lean on the Kazekage's gourd, or sit on the Kazekage's sash! That is just disrespectful!"

Gaara rolled his eyes at her panicked expression, "These are not the Kazekage's gourd or sash – they are _my_ gourd and sash."

"It's still the same thing!"

Gaara walked over to the gourd and sat right down on sash without hesitation, occupying half the available space.

"Will you sit, now?" He lifted a hand out to her.

"But…"

"I'm going to start pulling rank soon, Sakura," Gaara threatened mildly.

"Fine!"

Sakura strode right over and dropped herself onto the sash with a huff, careful not to bump into Gaara while doing so.

"Now, lean back."

Sakura did as Gaara said, sliding a little lower to rest her head in the dip of the gourd. As she looked up, she was surprised by the clear, uncluttered view of the stars above. The cloudless night and endless desert made they seem all the more brighter. She would never have gotten such a view in Konoha – the city lights obscured much of the beauty of the stars.

"I am star-gazing under protest, Gaara," she added in a last-ditch effort to save her dignity.

"Of course, Sakura."

All too soon, though, the day's work and her talk with Ino finally took their toll on Sakura. She tried her best to fight the sleep threatening to overcome her, telling herself repeatedly that she would try to get Gaara back to the tent and back in bed after five more minutes.

Five more minutes.

Just five more mi…

She was out like a light before even a minute was up. Gaara noted with interest that because Sakura was trying to maintain a respectful distance between them, she was now in danger of sliding off his gourd.

In fact, if she kept leaning away from him, she was going to fall flat onto her side in the next minute or…

… Make that right now. Gaara's lips thinned into a grim smile, his fingers curled around her arm as he saved her from falling flat on her face in her sleep. He pulled her back into sitting position smoothly, but noted that Sakura was still sound asleep.

Today's events must have taken more out of her than she allowed herself to show.

Sighing softly, he released his hold on her and watched in muted fascination as she once again started toppling away from him.

_Timber._

This could go on for the whole night, Gaara mused to himself, one hand firmly locked on Sakura's upper arm to stop her from tilting over any further.

The way Gaara saw it, he had two options:

One – pull Sakura right up against himself so she will fall onto him instead of the hard ground. The downside to this option was that he might end up with a much larger ring of black around one of his already black-rimmed eyes once the sleeping kunoichi stirred.

Two – take Sakura back to their tent and let her sleep properly. Probably no downside.

Until Gaara had to consider how he was going to carry Sakura without risking an accidental, indecent touch.

Somehow, it seemed ungentlemanly to use his sand to carry Sakura, even if it was the most practical method currently available to him. Plus, it was simply disrespectful to carry her around as if she had some transmittable disease or something.

The redhead looked Sakura once over, noting with distress that she was wearing very tiny shorts under the skirt that she favoured – that meant a lot of exposed skin that he was in danger of touching.

As gently and quietly as possible, Gaara budged Sakura enough to retrieve both sash and gourd, attaching them back onto himself before he bent back down to lift the sleeping kunoichi bridal-style.

Her thighs were smooth and warm. Soothingly so.

That last time he had been voluntarily close to another female was not as pleasant an experience. It happened during his inauguration as the Fifth Kazekage: he was required to dance with a shinobi of the opposite sex – a symbolic gesture of the trust between a Kage and his shinobis – and he chose Temari.

It was either that, or one of his swooning, screaming kunoichis.

Kankurou called it "the lesser of two evils"; Temari called him a big doofus and whapped him with her fan.

The entire experience of dancing with one's elder sister could be summed up in a single word: gross.

Holding Sakura so close in his arms was anything but, he noted.

Sakura muttered something and furrowed her brows, and Gaara stopped breathing for one irrational second.

When the tension on her face eased, Sakura seemed to find the presence of another warm body familiar, and promptly snuggled a little closer, rubbing her cheek against the very sash that she was so terrified of desecrating just minutes ago.

"Harumi…"

Was he just mistaken for a small, household cat?

Sakura pressed her face into his sash and mumbled, "… if I find you chewing on my hair again, you're getting only dried food tomorrow."

Yes, he had just been mistaken for a small, _mischievous_, household cat.

Gaara decided to reassure her that he was not going to eat her hair by uttering a single word:

"Meow."

Later that night, Gaara would wonder what insanity possessed him to meow like a cat.

But for now, the slight curling of Sakura's lips was reason enough.

It was a good thing that he commanded his sand mentally rather than needing to use hand seals, seeing how he had no free hands at that moment. Gaara deftly transported both of them back into the tent, a little disoriented by the sudden darkness inside.

A wisp of sand reached out to twist on a kerosene lamp, lighting up the interior of the tent gradually. It gave Gaara the visibility he needed to locate Sakura's bed, which the sand-cat and Katsuyu were both occupying. Gaara shot both creatures a look that told them to move off Sakura's bed, and the sand-cat was off in an instant. Katsuyu, however, appeared to be taking her own sweet time in slithering off, tentacles waving leisurely as it did so.

Katsuyu, it seemed, was not quite ready to forgive Gaara's mistaking of her for food yet.

With the slug finally off the bed, Gaara walked over and placed Sakura down as gently as he could so as not to wake her. Sakura might be physically exhausted, but she was a kunoichi, and her fighting instincts might kick in when he least wanted them to.

Fortunately, Sakura did not stir, not even when he retrieved his spare robe and tucked her in.

"Gaara…" Sakura muttered, eyes still closed, "… Don't forget to replenish your chakra."

Gaara blinked, wondering if she was sleep-talking. She had been unfaltering in her task of ensuring that he replenished his chakra every single night, but tonight she had arrived too late to brew the herbs into a tea.

Which meant…

Gaara turned to look at his desk, trying to will the pills inside the drawer into disappearing.

There was a strange purring sound, followed by the sand-cat changing into a whip-like shape as it hooked itself onto the drawer handle, pulled it open, and drew out the cloth-wrapped packet of pills. It then returned to its feline form and sat daintily on the table, the pills right in front of it.

When Gaara did not look as if he was going to be downing the pills anytime soon, the sand-cat gave a loud, rumbling purr that threatened to stir Sakura from her slumber.

Eyes widening in panic, Gaara quickly crossed over to the table and picked up the packet of pills, upon which the sand-cat ceased its noise-making immediately. He reluctantly peeled back the swatch of cloth, holding his breath as he plucked out a single pill. He glared at the sand-cat out of a corner of his eye as he popped the round pill into his mouth and tilted his head back to visibly swallow.

Gaara wondered why did medicine always look so manageable in one's palm, but seemed to triple its size once inside his mouth.

"Are you happy now, Mun?" He said to the sand-cat.

The sand-cat did not answer him – not that Gaara expected it to anyway. It leapt off the table and made its way back to Sakura's side.

Gaara tried to command the cat mentally, trying to find out how far along it had evolved, but all the cat did was turn around and give him a warning hiss that sounded like pouring sand. With what he presumed to be a huff, the cat flicked its tail at him and settled against Sakura's neck.

Gaara frowned, "Whose side are you on, anyway?"

The sand-cat purred softly, its hindquarters presented firmly in Gaara's direction.


	15. Chapter 15

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

And we finally move into the war itself. No long reviews = sad!Avium

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><p>It happened as Tsunade had predicted – Gaara would not go into battle with a medic tagging along. When Sakura came out of the tent, battle-ready and her face set in a determined expression, Gaara went up to her and assigned her to the Ambush Squad before she even had time to bat an eyelid.<p>

"But I am your personal medic! I am supposed to fight by your side!" Sakura argued.

"Haruno-san, your value as a field medic cannot be denied. However, intelligence told us to expect a smaller force to come at us from the sea crossing. Given your combat skills and medic expertise, you will be a far more important asset to the Ambush Squad. Kankurou is leading the Ambush Squad," Gaara paused, as if searching for the right words, "I need you to watch him for me."

"And you're just trying to get rid of me, aren't you?" Sakura grinned.

Gaara smiled back, "Perhaps. As I have told the Hokage, I do not require a babysitter."

"Alright, Kazekage-sama. I will move out with the Ambush Squad," then she held a finger up, "On one condition."

"Speak."

"You must promise me that you will summon me the very instant my skills are required."

"Very well."

"Pinky promise," added Sakura, her last finger curled towards Gaara's general direction.

Sakura looked absolutely serious, which made Gaara scowl even more. When it became obvious that Sakura was not going to back down, Gaara heaved a long-suffering sigh and held out his own pinky to loop with hers. Sakura gave their linked fingers a firm shake, as if to seal the deal, then glared at Gaara for good measure.

If there was one thing she knew about alpha males, it was that most of them were too proud to summon medical assistance unless it was forced upon them. Sakura was pretty sure that although Gaara did not look the part, the fact that he was the Kazekage automatically made him an alpha I-will-sooner-die-then-admit-I-have-a-boo-boo male.

Plus, she was sure that nobody would have made Gaara a pinky promise in the past, so hopefully, this experience would stick in his mind and he _would_ summon her when she was needed.

At least, that was what she hoped.

With the sand-cat at her heels, she left Gaara's side to meet up with the Ambush Squad near the camp entrance.

Kankurou, who had been addressing his small team, looked genuinely surprised to see Sakura approaching.

"Sakura-san? Is there a message from Shikamaru-san or my brother?" He asked.

Sakura blinked, replying, "No. Actually, I've just been assigned to your team as the field medic."

If anything, Kankurou looked even more baffled. He gestured to a shinobi standing nearby, "But Kiri here is our field medic for this team."

That definitely took Sakura by surprise. Had Gaara made a mistake in assigning two field medics to the Ambush Squad? It seemed unlikely that he would have made such an error.

Unless… he was sending her out with Kankurou, not so much as to watch over his brother, but to protect him.

"There has been a change in plans," Sakura smoothly lied, "Kazekage-sama wishes to maximise the survival chances of the Ambush Squad and wants two medics on the team instead of just one."

She then turned to Kiri, bowing slightly, "I hope you won't view my addition to the team as a comment on your medic skills, Kiri-san. I apologise for my sudden intrusion."

"Say no more, Sakura-san," the spiky-haired shinobi replied as he bowed back, "I have heard a great many things about you, and it is my honour to work beside a medic as accomplished as yourself."

Sakura coloured slightly; she was still unused to being complimented for her medic skills. But she did her best to look unaffected by the praise and instead turned to her newly-assigned squad leader.

So Kankurou had not known about Gaara's plan at all. And it suited her just fine – she did not need Kankurou to misread Gaara's concern for him as a slight on his abilities as a team leader. But Gaara should have told his brother in advance, because her abrupt addition to the team might have completely blew Kankurou's battle strategies out of the waters.

_Brothers_.

Kankurou, however, seemed to take the inclusion of another medic to his team in his stride. He beckoned her over into the circle of shinobis and began to go over their plans with her. Everything was very straightforward – they would travel into enemy territory on Sai's ink-birds, secure and establish a base, take out as many enemies as they can with explosives, and move on to repeat the same actions. Their goal was to root out any enemy bases and send their forces in as soon as they were discovered.

Whichever side that flushed out the most enemies first would invariably have a first-strike advantage.

Once assured that everyone was prepped and ready, Kankurou gave his signal and Sai unleashed his ink-birds. Sakura had often traveled on them during her missions with Sai, and hopped onto the back on one easily, Mr. Fluffy-kins following her soon after. The ink-birds took to the skies, and within moments, the 4th Division camp was nothing more than a speck in the distance.

"I must admit," Kankurou spoke above the wind whistling by, "I'm surprised that Gaara is sending you out on this mission. Isn't he supposed to protect you as much as you are to protect him?"

Sakura huffed, "Kankurou-san, I am a kunoichi, not some helpless little girl that needs to be constantly supervised."

"I could say the same for Gaara – he is the Kazekage, not some puny genin that needs a medic standing over him all the time. That's what our uncle used to do when Gaara was little."

Ah, the mysterious maternal uncle.

Sakura had so many questions about this particular figure in Gaara's life. He obviously had a great influence on Gaara's childhood, being both protector and would-be killer to him. It was not a conversation she wanted to initiate out in the open, though, so Sakura bit her tongue and did not reply.

"Hey, Ugly."

There was only one male in the entire world who would call her that, and somehow escape death each and every time.

"Sai."

"That's a very nice cat," Sai commented.

"Thank you," Sakura replied, turning behind to check on the sand-cat. Mr. Fluffy-kins was growling softly in annoyance and had dug its sandy claws into the ink-bird's back, trying to steady itself by crouching down at the same time.

Sakura had to stifle a snicker at the sand-cat's stoic suffering. She took pity on it and reached for it, prying the sand-cat's claws out of the ink-bird's back and then unzipping her flak jacket halfway down before promptly stuffing Mr. Fluffy-kins inside. The sand-cat had blinked in surprise at the sudden warmth, looked up at Sakura, then poked its head out the top of Sakura's jacket to watch the scenery go by. The kunoichi gave it an affectionate rub behind its ears before returning her attention to the skies ahead.

Sai continued to look at Sakura and the sand-cat for a while, as if contemplating something.

"Kazekage-sama made a very pleasing cat for you. I think I would like to draw the both of you sometime."

Sakura grinned, "Really, Sai? I thought you always said I was too ugly to be in your drawings."

Sai smiled that familiar condescending smile, and then nodded, saying, "That is true. I shall draw you holding the cat, but I'll replace your head with another model's."

Sai was lucky that Sakura was a close-range fighter, and that they were easily over two hundred meters up in the air. Otherwise, he would be bearing a nice impression of her fist on his cheek right now.

* * *

><p>Sakura barely had the time to orientate herself before the first of many explosions to come went off above the trench that they had constructed. Kankurou was just putting away the map that he had gone over with her and Kiri when Saji the sensor shinobi alerted him to a foreign presence. When Sakura glanced over, she recogised that it was a member of the Aburame clan, clutching at his injuries. Kankurou yelled out something, but whatever he said was quickly obscured by a blinding flash of white light, followed by a loud blast.<p>

When the dust had cleared away, she immediately sprung into medic-mode, rushing forward to heal any fallen comrades. Her first instincts were to find the Aburame male, have noticed how severe his wounds were, but Kankurou called her away.

"Sakura, he's dead – focus on Saji now!"

No time for mourning.

She made a quick dash towards the wounded shinobi, pulling him away from the open and behind some rocks to commence her healing. When she did look up to check on her surroundings, she was stunned to see two sets of chakra strings being wielded. One obviously belonged to Kankurou, and the other…

Someone, probably a skilled puppet master, was manipulating her half-dead shinobi comrades. Deidara hovered over the puppet shinobis on one of his clay birds, and for a moment Sakura remembered the sight of the blond once using his clay creation to carry away the dead Kazekage. A bitter bile rose in her throat at those memories.

But this was no time to be distracted, she reminded herself as she pumped chakra into Saji's open wounds. She had to focus on the task at hand, and only when Saji was no longer in a critical state could she join the battle.

Sakura leapt onto the boulder that she had been behind all this while to survey the battlefield the moment the last bit of exposed flesh knitted close, not even giving Saji the chance to thank her. Kiri was rushing to her side, one of Sasori's now-freed shinobi puppet thrown over his shoulders.

"Sakura-san! We need to get all the wounded behind this rock formation!" He gestured to the very boulder that Sakura was currently perched on.

Sakura nodded and swiftly scanned the fields for more injured shinobis.

And that was when she saw that familiar shock of red hair and the billowing black cloak patterned with crimson clouds.

She should have been able to put two and two together the moment she noticed Deidara, but her priority on the battlefield was to the injured. However, the sight of the Akatsuki puppet master stirred something vicious inside of her instantly.

Sasori was being violently yanked off from his place above the trench by Kankurou's chakra strings, and Sakura saw the opportunity that she never thought she would see again.

"Kankurou! MOVE!"

The puppet master turned just in time to see Sakura dash past him and towards the falling Sasori, feeling the wind slice past him as she went. Sakura leapt off the ground and right for the redhead, gloved fist glowing with chakra as she aimed with unrestrained rage at his face.

The sand-cat, which she had lost track of when the first explosion went off, suddenly appeared beside her. Snarling at Sakura's target, the sand-cat erupted into a cloud of sand that engulfed Sakura's fist, coating her entire lower arm in hard sand to increase the strength of her blow. Completely unperturbed by the cat's actions, she continued her line of attack.

Her mark rang true; she could feel whatever that passed for flesh and bone crumbling and falling away under her fist even beneath the sand.

Sasori must have flown a good twenty meters or so away, even when restrained by Kankurou's chakra strings. Kankurou could only gape open-mouthed at the pink-haired kunoichi as she practically stalked over to Sasori's fallen form, the sand-cat now a swirl of sand dancing and curling around her.

She looked every bit a she-demon of the sand.

Standing over Sasori, she waited for the man to meet her gaze before she clenched her fist at him, snarling, "That was for Chiyo baa-san."

Sasori looked back at her with an expression of puzzlement, and finally recognition lit up in his grey, dead eyes.

"It is you, the little girl who fought besides Chiyo," he stated, "Then I presume she is dead?"

"No thanks to you! She sacrificed herself to bring the Kazekage back to life!"

Sasori looked at the sand surrounding Sakura as if seeing it for the first time. "I thought that chakra signature was familiar. So, Gaara is still alive?"

Sakura gritted her teeth, then smashed her fist into the ground just a few centimeters shy of Sasori's neck, "Don't you dare address him so intimately – Akatsuki killed the Kazekage, and a great woman had to give her life to save his!"

Sakura closed her eyes for a moment to calm herself. How could she forget how so very cold Gaara's body was when she laid her hands on him; how terribly crushed Naruto was when it seemed as if Gaara had really left them; how useless she felt to have been unable to protect her friends once again; how Chiyo atoned for her past sins by making the ultimate sacrifice…

She straightened herself and took a step back, glaring daggers with grim determination at the fallen Akatsuki member as she muttered darkly, "Today, I am going to avenge them both."

For the first time ever, Kankurou felt sorry for the enemy.

* * *

><p>"Was that really necessary, Sakura?" asked Kankurou while watching her brush off bits of debris from her combat gloves.<p>

Sakura had to raise her voice above the ruckus that Deidara was making from inside Kankurou's puppet, "Absolutely."

Kankurou gave her a hard glare, "Sakura, your position in the Ambush Squad is that of a medic. You are not to leap into combat situations unless I order you to do so, or unless you are defending yourself. If you cannot respect your own station, I will remove you from my squad. Is that clear?"

For one moment there, Sakura looked as if she was ready to fight back, or at least argue. Inwardly, Kankurou braced himself.

He was taken aback when Sakura seemed to shrink a little as she bowed and replied, "You are right, Kankurou-san. I apologise for my behaviour, and ask that you give me another chance to prove myself."

"Just…" Kankurou struggled to find the right words, "Just don't put yourself in danger again, okay? Gaara will have my hide if anything happens to you under my watch."

"Kankurou-san, you had better be saying that because I am the only kunoichi on the squad and not because of anything else," Sakura warned.

Well, either way, it was still demeaning. But it was at least better to have Gaara tear his brother a new one over his failure to protect a woman than over his failure to protect a _specific_ woman.

"What else, Sakura?" Kankurou's smile was a little too calculated for her liking, but Sakura had other matters to attend to.

She walked over to Sai who was still clutching onto his sketchbook. When she laid a hand gently over his shoulder, he had turned to face her with wide eyes.

_They could never completely kill off your emotions, Sai._

"Is everything okay, Sai?" Her brows were raised in worry. She had her hands full fighting Sasori, but the sight of Sai defending himself against the man he called his brother, and the restrain he exercised in the fight…

Sai looked bewildered by her concern for a minute there, but his false smile slipped back into place after a while.

"Of course, Ugly. Everything is fine."

Sakura glanced down at the sketchbook in his hand, noting that Sai had held the side with his brother's drawing facing upwards.

"Well… if you need to talk to someone, you can look for me. Alright?"

Sai nodded mutely, and then went to rejoin the squad as if nothing had happened.

Kankurou gestured for the team to regroup, and laid out their next moves, "It was a bit unexpected – running into the enemy's own Ambush Squad like this. But we've taken them out, and we need to move further into enemy territory. The other Divisions are waiting for our intel to show them where to strike.

"We will split into two teams as of now. Omoi, I'm making you in charge of surveillance from the skies together with Kiri, Sai and Saji. The rest of us will continue on foot. This way, we will have two sources of intel instead of just one. Stay within contact distance – we are each other's backup."

Sakura could not quite shake the feeling that everything was a little too simple – running into the enemy's Ambush Squad was too much of a coincidence, and taking them out was perhaps too physically easy (if emotionally draining).

She touched her collar, feeling Katsuyu snug and safe within the confines of her jacket. The slug summon squelched as if to reassure her, but it said nothing otherwise. That meant that none of the other Divisions had anything new to report.

Maybe she was just on the edge, causing herself to over-read matters.

But why did the enemy shinobis still have their emotions intact? It seemed too casual a mistake for someone of Orochimaru's or Kabuto's caliber to make. Tsunade had once explained that the reanimated dead were usually resurrected as emotionless puppets to make them easier to control…

_Argh!_

Mentally pounding her head, Sakura followed Kankurou's half of the Ambush Squad. She had to invest her mental energies elsewhere for now – such questions could wait.

She hoped.

The best thing she could do now was to fight; to protect those most precious to her.

Surprisingly, she was not bothered that Gaara was now among those she wanted to protect.


	16. Chapter 16

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

I am going to openly request for long reviews, please. If I get 3 long reviews by Friday, there will be another update on Saturday. Deal? Otherwise, I'll count this Wednesday's post as this week's update ;D

Hey, weekly updates are hard, you know!

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><p>Gaara was currently having one hell of a headache. His headache was blonde, busty, and went by the name of Hokage-sama; Tsunade to her close friends.<p>

Said woman was presently inside his head, courtesy of Inoichi's telepathic communication network. And boy, was she yelling up a storm.

"I cannot believe you sent Sakura with the Ambush Squad! Do you even know the mortality rate of Ambush Squad members?" Tsunade screeched at him.

"That was precisely why I sent Haruno-san with them – she would be able to save more lives that way."

"Gaara, consider this for a moment – why do you think the Ambush Squad is always an all-male squad? It's because they have the stamina and resilience that outweighs most kunoichis'. You have placed Sakura in a disadvantageous situation by doing so."

Gaara frowned, "Hokage-sama, I think you have underestimated your own student. Haruno-san is easily the strongest kunoichi I know, and from what I've learnt about her fight against Sasori more than a year ago, she took a lethal wound and healed it while still in combat situation. Is that not resilience?"

Tsunade really hated debating with logical people; their arguments were always so… logical. If Naruto heard about what Gaara just did, he would have blown a gasket and ran off helter-skelter to save his "Sakura-chan". And here was Gaara, treating Sakura like an adult woman perfectly capable of handling herself.

… Wait a second.

"Gaara, _please_ tell me that Sakura is just a friend to you."

"I shall not insult you with a lie, Hokage-sama. Haruno-san is not merely a friend to me," he thought he heard Tsunade's breathing halt suddenly, "She is a _good_ friend, and one of the finest kunoichis I've ever met."

Tsunade exhaled so long and loud, Gaara thought she sounded like a deflating balloon.

"Gaara, you really… test my patience sometimes," Tsunade finally spoke up.

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, I know that you have assigned Haruno-san to me partially because you wanted me to protect her, and that I will do. What I want to know is, why not Hatake-san? As her teacher since her genin days, he would…"

Tsunade cut him off quickly, "I respect Kakashi as a shinobi, and had I not survived the attack on Konohagakure by Pein, I would have been more than satisfied to have him succeed me as Hokage. However, Kakashi always took Sasuke and Naruto more seriously than he ever did Sakura. He always leaps a little too quickly to her defense even when she can handle the situation herself. The last thing I need is to have him crush her hard-earned confidence by treating her like the little girl she no longer is."

Gaara rubbed at his chin, and then replied, "So in a roundabout way, you are telling me that I was correct to send her out with the Ambush Squad?"

"Yes… No! I mean, arrrgh!"

Gaara frowned to himself. The Hokage was committing the very same mistake that she had accused Sakura's teacher of – of being overprotective towards the kunoichi. Sakura was a strong woman, both literally and figuratively speaking – she could handle herself.

Gaara wondered if Tsunade heard any of his thoughts.

The snorting sound from the other end probably meant that Tsunade did.

Inoichi's hand which was placed on Tsunade's head twitched involuntarily.

"Gaara," Tsunade sighed, "Just so you know, I did genuinely want Sakura working as your personal medic. You are commanding an army of 80,000, and you need to be in peak physical condition at all times. Sakura, bless her worry-wart nature, would have been an excellent source of 'encouragement' to not overlook your own needs."

"I am not a child that needs to be monitored day and night, Hokage-sama. Since you have given me your vote of confidence to lead the Allied Shinobi Forces, I'd assume that you know that as well."

_Men and their stubborn, stubborn pride._

"Very well, Gaara. But if you drop dead of exhaustion or something equally stupid on the battle field, so help me, I will dig you up from the ground, reanimate you, and then kill you personally," Tsunade threatened.

Gaara smirked, "I expect nothing less from a legendary Sannin and Fifth Hokage."

Muttering one last colourful phrase, Tsunade broke their telepathic connection, allowing Gaara to finally heave a sigh of relief.

In truth, he was a little worried about Sakura. Intel came just prior to Tsunade's little lecture from Omoi's half of the Ambush Squad, and it seemed like the 3rd Division has already began to engage the enemy forces. Gaara had suspected that his brother might split the Ambush Squad up to improve their chances at flushing out the enemies, but it was a risky move as well – Kankurou's decision had effectively halved their squad strength.

Still, he would not question his elder brother's military decisions. This was not a one-man war, and he needed to trust in his people to make the best decision no matter what the circumstances.

However, if he did not hear back from Kankurou's squad soon, which he presumed Sakura to be on, he might have to make a personal trip down to find out exactly what was going on. The sand-cat might be a useful animal ally, but unlike Katsuyu, it had no way of communicating with Gaara telepathically.

* * *

><p>Sakura was having A Very Bad Day.<p>

It was as if the Gods above decided to throw her back to the day that they fought for Gaara's life, because right now, standing in front of her, was Chiyo. She was traveling with a group of 3 other shinobis, one of whom had summoned a huge salamander-like creature which spewed poisonous mist at her Ambush Squad.

Right now, everyone was within range of the mist, including herself.

The moment she caught the first whiff of something odd as the squad advanced, it took her but a moment to process that there was something dangerous in the air that they breathed. Right now, the mist was practically invisible and almost scentless, so unless one was specialised in poison detection like herself, they would not have noticed anything amiss.

Moving on instinct, she grabbed Kankurou by his collar, choking him in the process, and promptly flung him as far behind them as she could.

She did try to find him a soft landing, but Kankurou had landed on a sparse treetop canopy. The branches gave way under his weight, and after several stop-starts as he fell, hitting every other branch along the way to the ground, he finally landed face-first on the grass.

When Kankurou looked up, ready to give Sakura a stern talking-to, he was shocked into silence by the sight of his entire team collapsed in a now greenish-mist, sprawled haphazardly and very much exposed to enemy fire.

Flicking out his chakra strings, he quickly retrieved his teammates. Kankurou made the decision to grab his male shinobis first, erroneously assuming that just because Sakura could identify the poison in the air, she must have some sort of counter for it.

Sakura tried holding her breath to avoid inhaling the poison, but the toxin appeared to have been absorbed merely through contact with her exposed skin, if the pinkish patches growing on her arms were any indications.

Limbs numbed heavy by the poison and her vision rapidly blurring over, Sakura could only watch helplessly as an enemy shinobi with a strange breathing apparatus over his face came at her with his sword drawn.

At least she kept her promise of ensuring Kankurou's safety, Sakura mused to herself.

The sand-cat growled and started to blur into a cloud of sand, ready to aid Sakura in deflecting the coming blow, but it suddenly solidified, and turned instead to Sakura's fallen form. It purred anxiously, watching helplessly as Sakura's eyes fluttered shut.

She passed out just before General Mifune of the samurai dashed forward to parry the blow aimed at her. Kankurou's strings attached themselves to her form and quickly drew her away from the combat situation, pulling her right into his arms.

"Sakura? Sakura!" He patted her cheek gently at first, then a little harder when she didn't stir.

_Crap._

The sand-cat came running over, hissing at Kankurou and confusing the brunet.

"I don't have time for you, Fluffy, or whatever-your-name-is! My team is down and I…" Kankurou didn't even get the chance to finish his sentence before the sand-cat turned into a cloud of sand, blanketing Sakura and blocking her from Kankurou's view. Several heartbeats later, the sand-cat was gone.

And so was Sakura.

Kankurou's first thought was, _Double__ crap._

It was quickly followed by the thought, _Oh__ God,__ Gaara __is__ going __to__ commit__ fratricide!_

"Kankurou!" yelled out Chiyo, effectively getting his attention, "If that is Gaara's sand-animal, which I suspect it is, it has probably taken Sakura away for medical attention. This poison must be treated within the next few hours before permanent damage can set it. Why don't you do the same for the rest of your team now?"

Kankurou could only nod, and began directing a few samurais to assist him in the task of transporting his comrades back to the medic base.

He hoped desperately that Chiyo-sama was correct in her assumptions, because he was not interested in dying anytime soon. Especially by sand.

* * *

><p>The third Tsuchikage, Oonoki, was a man of considerable age. Therefore, he prided himself in having seen and experienced just about everything there was.<p>

He had, however, never seen a kunoichi materialise from a cloud of sand and drop out of the sky.

Oonoki had been discussing with Gaara about the advancing armies of White Zetsu clones, which appeared to be acting as reinforcements for when the resurrected Kages were to attack. Gaara listened, voicing his own opinions only every now and then, when he suddenly looked skywards, seeming to gaze at nothing.

That was, until a few specks of sand started to materialise in the air above. The few specks changes into a larger mass, and finally a sizable sand cloud. Oonoki noted that Gaara did not seemed alarmed, so he figured that he had nothing to be concerned about as well.

What he did not expect was for the sand cloud to suddenly drop a pink-haired kunoichi into Gaara's readied arms.

Oonoki glanced upwards discreetly, just in case the sky decided to drop more surprises.

The sand cloud floated about for a little longer before changing into the form of a cat that was now circling Gaara and purring fretfully. Gaara was staring wide-eyed at the obviously distressed and unconscious kunoichi he was cradling, and appeared to be at a loss on what to do.

"Mun, what happened?" Gaara asked the sand-cat.

The sand-cat only purred harder and angrier.

Right, cats don't talk. And that included sand-cats.

There was a faint glow coming from inside Sakura's collar, and Gaara hesitated for only a second before he gently pushed back her collar. It was Katsuyu, and it appeared to be trying to heal Sakura with its chakra. But it was obviously not enough, if the alarming pink blotches on her skin were anything to go by.

When Gaara turned to face Oonoki, the Tsuchikage could see that the young man had already made up his mind about what he was going to do.

"Tsuchikage-sama, my personal medic is in need of healing. I must take her to the medic base right away."

"Of course, Kazekage-sama. She is, after all, the Hokage's apprentice."

A swirl of sand, and both Gaara and Sakura had transported away. The sand-cat leapt into the vanishing sand at the last second, effectively tagging along with both Gaara and Sakura whether Gaara wanted it to or not.

"And why couldn't you take her directly to the medic base, cat?" Oonoki pondered aloud.

Oonoki stroked his beard, not quite able to forget the look of silent alarm in Gaara's eyes when it became clear to him that the kunoichi he was carrying was unconscious. It was most strange, really – shinobis getting killed during a war was a given, so why had the Kazekage been so worried over a kunoichi that was certain to recover with proper medical care?

Unless…

Oonoki chuckled to himself.

"Ah, to be young again."

His back involuntarily gave a sound "krick".


	17. Chapter 17

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

**THANK YOU for all the long reviews** - I knew you guys could do it! So here's my end of the deal.

Long reviews help writers figure out which parts of their story are clicking with the readers, and which parts need more work. They are genuinely helpful, and it's also very interesting to read the speculations that some of you have written. Most of the speculations I already have planned or written - is that a good thing or a bad thing?

* * *

><p>When Sakura opened her eyes several hours later, she had to shut them immediately to shield herself from the blinding whiteness that surrounded her.<p>

She tried to raise her arm over her eyes, but it felt impossibly heavy and unresponsive.

_Fantastic – I've been poisoned and temporarily paralysed as a result._

Sakura was surprised by how calmly she was taking her own diagnosis.

There was a horrible ringing in her ears, and Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. It took her a while longer before she realised that it was not ringing in her ears, but the voices of at least two individuals talking nearby.

"What is it with you and poison, Kankurou? It's almost as if you two cannot be separated for long," said a distinctly female voice.

"Geez, Temari! Twice – just twice I've been poisoned or am confronted by a possible poisoning and you make it sound like I'm wearing a sign that says, 'please poison me!' over my head!"

Temari heaved a sigh, then continued, "And that makes it twice that Sakura has saved your sorry butt. You do know of the Suna tradition where if someone saves your life three times, you're obligated to marry her, don't you?"

Kankurou began coughing, followed by a thumping sound indicating that he was probably trying to dislodge whatever that slipped into his windpipe.

"I thought that practice was only if a man saved a woman three times!" He choked out.

"If you didn't cut classes to play with your puppets so often, you'd have realised that the tradition had never specified the gender of the rescuer."

"No, no – I _know_ you are pulling my leg, Temari. I've only ever heard this practice being upheld by men."

"That's because history is gender-biased."

_Okay, I'm not just paralysed; I'm high. Really, really, drug-trippy high._

That was the only rational explanation that Sakura could come up with for overhearing such an absurd conversation between Gaara's siblings. She knew that the people of Sunagakure did things differently from Konohagakure (eating salted tongue was one of them), but some practices sounded just too far-fetched to be the truth, and this had to be one of them.

"You've got to be insane if you think I'm going to hit on Gaara's woman, Temari."

"Until Gaara decides to claim her through marriage, she's up for grabs, Kan-ku-rou," Temari sounded positively devious.

"Medic… I'm his personal medic, dammit," Sakura muttered, figuring that it didn't matter if she decided to talk to her hallucinations; it gave her something to do at least, "I am nobody's woman, and I'm not from Suna, so you can stop all this crazy talk about me marrying Gaara."

"Sakura! You're awake!"

_Oh, darn it. I wasn't hallucinating._

Sakura forced herself to open her eyes, and two blurry figures appeared in her field of vision. It was hard to tell who was who, though, since both of Gaara's older siblings favoured dark-coloured clothes.

Temari ordered Kankurou to find a medic while she approached Sakura to help her into a sitting position. It was a little harder than she had thought, because Sakura's muscles were like lead at the moment.

Sakura managed a smile of apology, though, which Temari acknowledged with a little smirk of her own. The blonde looked about to say something when Kankurou swept back into the tent, a medic-nin tailing behind him.

Obediently, Sakura allowed herself to be subjected to a battery of tests before the medic finally pronounced her well on her way to recovery, although she would need at least another twenty-four hours to regain full use of her muscles. He left her with some medicine and a flask of water before bowing to Gaara's siblings as he exited the tent.

Kankurou heaved a sigh of relief and sagged into a nearby chair. Sakura may not be hale and hearty, but at least she was not in any danger.

And that meant he was not in any danger of being buried in sand in the near future.

_Hurray!_ thought Kankurou.

Temari poured Sakura a drink and helped her with it, and Sakura was grateful to finally be rid of that parched feeling in her throat.

"Erm, Sakura?" Kankurou scratched the back of his head awkwardly before finally looking up at her, "You were great out there. By detecting the poisonous mist early, you managed to save everyone on my squad."

"Including my brother's sorry butt," chipped in Temari.

Sakura smiled at Kankurou, "Thanks, Kankurou-san. And I apologise for tossing you into that tree – there was no time to assess if it would hold you, and it clearly couldn't."

Temari's laughter filled the tent while Kankurou's lower lip stuck out in a deliberate pout.

After a while, Temari brushed away the tears of laughter from the corner of her eyes and turned to Sakura.

"Now, you were saying something about not being Suna-born?"

Sakura was still fighting the vestiges of weariness in her mind, so it took her a moment to process what Temari was asking. When she finally strung the words together, Sakura could feel the heat rising in her cheeks.

"Well, I was told by… someone, that the Kazekage can only marry someone from Suna. Not that I'm considering it or anything!" Sakura quickly added, "It's just that, you guys can pretty much stop planning for a sister-in-law outside of Suna."

Temari exchanged slightly confused looks with Kankurou. She gestured towards nothing in particular and began, "Sakura, here's the thing – the Kazehime title is only bestowed…"

There was a sudden flare of chakra from outside the tent, and all three individuals turned towards the tent entrance at once, knowing exactly who to expect. Whatever Temari was planning to say went unsaid as she clamped her lips shut. Kankurou unconsciously shrank into the shadows; if he had a tail, it would be tucked neatly between his legs right now.

Just because Sakura was alive and on the road to recovery, it didn't mean that Gaara would let him escape unscathed.

Fortunately for Kankurou, when Gaara entered the tent, his eyes were immediately on his resting medic and not his siblings.

"Kazekage-sama," Sakura greeted, attempting to bow.

Gaara was by her side before she even had the chance to incline her head, his hand pressed against her shoulder to stop her action.

"You shouldn't strain yourself, Haruno-san. I do not wish for you to observe such formalities in your current state."

Sakura tried to give him an angry glare, but all she did was manage to look sleepy.

Temari looked from her youngest sibling to Sakura, and back again. Finally, she spoke up, "Sakura, do you remember how you arrived at the medic base?"

Sakura blinked several times, searching her memories as she did so. She came up with no explanations at all.

"I… assumed Kankurou-san took me along with the rest of the squad back for medical attention?" She ventured, sounding unsure of herself.

Kankurou snorted, gesturing to the sand-cat curled up next to Sakura's side that she had only just noticed, "Pfft – that cat of yours transported you away before I even knew what was going on."

Sakura looked down at the purring sand-cat, and smiled affectionately to it. She wanted to pat it, but her hand felt a little heavy for that right now.

"So you saved my life by taking me to the medic base, Mr. Fluffy-kins? You're such a sweet, clever cat," Sakura cooed.

Both Temari and Kankurou developed coughing fits out of the blue, while Gaara turned to give them a venomous glare.

Undeterred, Temari strode over to Sakura's side with a look on her face that was reminiscent of Ino's when the Yamanaka female heard a particularly juicy piece of gossip – "Oh, no. Your sand-cat didn't take you here on its own, Sakura. Do you want to know where it took you instead?"

Sakura had the sinking feeling that she was better off not knowing, but Temari went on anyway.

The blonde pointed one finger upwards, "Your cat decided to give both the Kazekage and Tsuchikage a surprise by dropping you out of the sky and right into Gaara's arms."

Sakura paled significantly at the image of herself, unconscious and falling right into Gaara's outstretched arms. And right in front of the Tsuchikage no less; she might have given the poor man a heart attack! She turned to the sand-cat and laid one hand on its hindquarters firmly.

"Why did you do that, Mr. Fluffy-kins? The Kazekage is a busy man and cannot be wasting his time catching falling shinobis!" Sakura was trying her best to keep the panic out of her voice.

The sand-cat gave her a look that implied she just asked a very stupid question.

Gaara's soft clearing of his throat drew her attention back to him, and Sakura had to strain to hear his words above Kankurou and Temari's uproarious laughter.

"To enter the medic base, everyone has to be subjected to a chakra check. Mun was apparently not a fan of chakra probes, so he decided to bring you to me instead. He must have chosen me because I created him," Gaara explained, "That, and he would have had to place you on the ground for the sensor shinobis if he arrived at the base entrance directly, and I think he didn't want to do something so ungentlemanly."

Sakura's brain was working overtime. There was a question that was just out of her reach that she remembered wanting to ask Gaara about…

"Kazekage-sama," Sakura began, not quite able to hide the growing nervousness in her voice, "Does that mean last night, it was you who carried me back to the tent and not the sand-cat?"

Gaara tilted his head as if considering how to answer her, and then nodded. "Of course it was me. You left Mun back at the tent, remember?"

Sakura looked completely flabbergasted; it was as if someone had just beaned her with a blunt, heavy object. Temari took one look at the stricken-looking kunoichi and practically shoved Kankurou out of the tent amidst his protests, whispering something escaping while he still had the chance. The grin on her face, however, told that Kankurou's personal safety was the last thing on her mind.

Gaara watched the antics of his siblings until the tent flap closed before turning back to Sakura.

She was still slack-jawed and wide-eyed.

"Haruno-san?" He asked, unsure of what exactly was going on in her head.

"Kazekage-sama," she began, "Will you please help me roll over onto my stomach?"

Gaara appeared puzzled by her request, but did as she asked, softly guiding her body around by the torso. Sakura's muscles were still not working as well as she would like them to.

As he reached over to help me turn her head to the side, Sakura surprised him further by deliberately burying her face into the pillow.

And then she screamed. Long and loud.

To Gaara, though, it sounded more like muffled growling.

When Sakura's voice finally gave out on her, Gaara reached out to turn her onto her side before kneeling down to meet her at her eye-level.

"Haruno-san, nobody saw me carrying you back to the tent, if that was what you were worried about; I transported us directly back."

"… Oh."

"Is it really such a bad thing for others to assume that we are more than friends?"

Sakura blinked, and promptly blushed a delicate pink. "… I beg your pardon?"

Gaara sighed, "I'm not hitting on you, Haruno-san. I'm just asking if it is so distressing a thought to be considered a potential Kazehime."

She should be flattered on some level – after all, the Kazekage was considered one of the most eligible bachelors in the Five Shinobi Nations. However, she had honestly never thought of furthering her position in the shinobi world through a political marriage, and she had definitely never considered Gaara from such an angle before.

Until now.

But this was a time of war – other duties came first.

She took a deep breath to clear her mind and steady her voice before replying, "The Suna kunoichis are already on the verge of putting up 'Wanted: Dead or Alive' posters for me."

"You do not trust in my ability to protect what is mine?" Gaara asked, sounding somewhat offended at the same time.

Sakura narrowed her eyes suspicously, "Kazekage-sama, I really hope you are referring to me as your personal medic, thereby making me 'yours' within that context."

"Did I not promise to protect you when we left the war council?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"Then trust in me, as I trust in you."

Sakura had no reply to that. Gaara had never given her any reasons to doubt him before; she wondered if that counted as trust.

Gaara rose to his full height, then turned to look at Sakura. His wore a poker face, concealing his thoughts from her.

"I spoke to Hokage-sama recently, and I have expressed my thoughts to her that you are an excellent kunoichi. To lose you will be a great loss to all of us, both on a personal level and towards our cause. You are one of the few people I can trust, Haruno-san, even more so when I can speak frankly with you. No other woman has your wit."

Sakura really, really wanted to pinch herself. Or maybe hit her head against the side table. Gaara was saying things that she never expected he would utter in a million years.

It had to be a hallucination. Or whatever medication they gave her to counteract the poison in her system that was making her hear things.

Yes, that had to be it.

Fortunately, Gaara decided to stop making her head spin.

"Haruno-san, I am assigning you to the medic base for the next seven days. You require ample time to recover from your injuries, and Shizune-san seemed overwhelmed by the amount of wounded shinobis being brought in," then he smirked, "I, however, expect to see you for our nightly tea sessions."

"Kazekage-sama, the chakra pills…"

"… Are outright unpalatable." Gaara involuntarily scrunched his nose in at the memory of downing one of those pills last night.

Sakura could not help it – she grinned as Gaara smiled back at her.

"I shall do so, Kazekage-sama, if to avoid being court-marshaled for insubordination."

"But not tonight, Haruno-san. You need your recovery time," Gaara adjusted his shoulders to stand a little taller, "I shall make do with the chakra pills tonight."

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara nodded, and with one last request for her to have a good rest, exited the tent.

Sakura released the breath that she did not know she had been holding all this while.

Gaara was a possessive man – that much she knew. If she looked at it logically, it probably stemmed from a childhood of being surrounded by would-be assassins; he therefore cherished anyone he could put his trust in. Over the past few weeks of being in close, constant contact with Gaara, Sakura knew that she was beginning to let her guard down as well – they talked and acted like old friends now.

They had learnt to trust, and wanted to protect each other.

That was what friends did for each other, was it not?

Satisfied with her deductions, Sakura fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>When Gaara walked out of the tent, he was surprised to see Shikamaru leaning against a stack of wooden crates, arms crossed and suppressing his chakra. It was odd – why would Shikamaru want to hide his presence from both him and Sakura?<p>

Upon hearing the rustle of the tent flap, Shikamaru looked up and pushed himself off the crates to walk towards Gaara. Gaara regarded his second-in-command – he wore an expression of mild annoyance, but that told him nothing of what Shikamaru was thinking; Shikamaru always looked as if the entire world was doing nothing else but tossing trouble his way.

"Nara-san, are you here to see Haruno-san? If so, she is currently resting," said Gaara, speculating that the Nara prodigy was here to visit his wounded comrade.

"Kazekage-sama," Shikamaru stopped a respectful distance away, "I wish to speak with you, not Sakura. Can we go somewhere else?"

The buzz of activities in the medic base resonated in Gaara's ears, and he nodded to acknowledge Shikamaru's request; not only was the base noisy, there was little that it offered in terms of privacy.

"Shall we go to my tent, Nara-san?"

Shikamaru nodded, and Gaara swept a hand forward to summon sand from his gourd. The sand enveloped them, and when Shikamaru opened his eyes again, he realised that Gaara had transported them directly to his large tent without undergoing clearance from the sensor shinobis of the 4th Divisions.

_There are definitely some perks to being at the top_, mused Shikamaru.

Gaara gestured to an empty chair by the side of his table – Sakura's usual sitting place when she was helping him with his paperwork. But Shikamaru shook his head, wanting to get right to the point.

"May I speak frankly, Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara nodded once, and Shikamaru locked gazes with the young Regimental Leader. He didn't look forward to broaching the subject that he was about to bring up when the time came, and he most certainly did not expect the other party to be the Fifth Kazekage, of all the people in the world.

Life had a way of being troublesome – that much he knew.

"I want to talk to you about Sakura," Shikamaru began, his hands twisting behind his back, "Sakura is… not experienced in the area of romantic love, Kazekage-sama. All the experience she ever had in this department can be summed up in one individual."

"Uchiha Sasuke," Gaara was starting to find that name disconcerting.

"And I don't think she ever loved him at all, so she is completely new to the idea of romantic love."

"That makes us both," Gaara said, uttering it as if it was a fact and nothing more.

_The sky is blue. We are at war with Akatsuki. I have never been in love._

Shikamaru closed his eyes and sighed before opening them, this time looking more serious than Gaara had ever seen him.

"Kazekage-sama, Sakura is a good friend to me; I don't want to see her get hurt. You were teasing her back there at the medic base, and I think that just confused her even more. Sakura may not say it, but even if she does think that way, she won't dare to voice it out of respect for your position as her commanding officer."

"Nara-san," Gaara held his head high as he spoke, "I know better than to fool with another person's trust and emotions. I would never deliberately hurt Sa… Haruno-san."

Neither one of them made a comment about Gaara's slip of the tongue.

"How should I put this… Kazekage-sama, you have been living in close quarters with Sakura for over a month now. Are you certain that you are not mistaking this physical closeness for emotional closeness?"

Shikamaru knew that he was walking on thin ice, but he had to push on. For Sakura's sake.

For one moment, Gaara looked ready to summon his sand to perform a very repulsive task on Shikamaru, but then he looked away, and muttered, "Nara-san, Haruno-san is very fortunate to have a friend such as you to look out for her. And I can tell you this much: that I am probably just as confused as she is."

Shikamaru blinked, surprised by Gaara's honesty.

"Kazekage-sama, Sakura is an exceptional individual and an amazing woman. I just want to make sure that she is not being misled, because she is more emotionally fragile than she looks," said Shikamaru, "I will not ask if you love her, because love is not something that happens overnight. All I ask is that you take things slow with Sakura, and that you never play games with her."

Gaara frowned, looking insulted by Shikamaru's insinuations that he would knowingly hurt Sakura. There was also a hint of anger in the redhead's eyes. However, Shikamaru stood his ground, determined not to be driven off by Gaara's glare.

"Haruno-san seems very important to you, Nara-san." Gaara's voice held a hint of frost.

Shikamaru nodded once, "She is important to me, Kazekage-sama, but not in the manner in which you think."

There was no need to tell Gaara that he and Sakura had been together in the past, and had parted on good terms after they decided that they wanted different things in life.

Shikamaru wanted to die from old age and not sand, thank you very much.

Both men stood in silence for a long time.

It was Shikamaru who spoke first – "Kazekage-sama, I meant no disrespect with my earlier words. If I have offended you in any manner, I apologise for that."

Gaara pondered Shikamaru's words for a while. There was no denying that he enjoyed his verbal parrying of wits with Sakura; perhaps a little too much. Sakura had responded in kind, and he had naturally assumed that his words had meant no harm.

That was, until Shikamaru reminded him that Sakura might have been upset, but was simply too polite to tell him otherwise.

"No, Nara-san. Although I cannot determine outright that I have intentions towards Haruno-san, I can tell you that I genuinely care for her welfare. I am fond of her, and I don't wish to lose her through any foolishness on my part. I can see how some of my choice of words could have troubled her, and that I shall watch out for in the future."

Inwardly, Shikamaru was satisfied with Gaara's reply – he was not too proud to acknowledge possible mistakes, something which even Shikamaru himself had trouble doing at times.

If a man was willing to put a woman ahead of his own pride…

Yes, Shikamaru was certain that Sakura was in good hands.

"I should make my preparations to leave in assistance of the coastal defence, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara nodded to dismiss him.

Shikamaru was at the tent entrance when he suddenly spoke up.

"One more thing, Kazekage-sama – Sakura likes white lilies."

And with that, the Nara prodigy left.

* * *

><p>When Sakura woke up the next morning, bleary-eyed and dry-mouthed, the first thing she saw was a single white lily sitting in her water flask.<p>

She wondered how she was going to get a drink of water now.


	18. Chapter 18

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

**I need to get something off my chest:**

1) **Mon Esprit Libre**, I know you don't mean it, but "cheap humour" is considered an insult. I certainly hope I am achieving better than lavatory humour.

2) **Eirdaru**, "bromance"? Not unless Sakura goes for gender reassignment surgery. Also, "they are the equvalent of 4 yearolds that like each other emotionally"? I hope you're reviewing the correct fanfic, or at least reading the Naruto manga.

Stay out of the spiked eggnog, people.

I love you guys, I really do. But please understand that I'm not a professional writer; I write purely for the fun of it. I love long reviews, and I thank all those whom have indulged me up till now. Please keep them coming - I've lots of stuff lined up for this fanfic, and it's reviews that fuel my passion to continue on this fanfic.

Your reviews motivate me to stay on track with a weekly update schedule - every Saturday night (Singapore time) without fail.

But seriously, no more spiked eggnog for some of you.

* * *

><p>There weren't many things that Sakura hated, but feeling useless was one of them.<p>

Once the first twenty-four hours were up, she heaved herself off her cot, pulled on her flak jacket, and marched over to Shizune's tent to politely but firmly request for placement as a base medic.

Shizune had little basis to argue with her, given that Sakura had observed the rest period stipulated by her medic. Besides, in the recent clashes with the White Zetsu clones and resurrected shinobis, the number of casualties being brought in was becoming unmanageable; she really could use the extra help.

"Sakura, I'm assigning you to tent number five. There will be civilian doctors working alongside you, and they are unused to certain types of injuries, especially those caused by jutsus, so you will have your work cut out for you.

"There are far more casualties then we have initially estimated, so you cannot be healing everyone with chakra – you'll be completely drained before noon. Instead, we are going to use old-fashioned bandages together with standard surgical and medical equipment. Chakra-based healing is reserved only for situations where physical treatments are not possible, or in life-or-death situations."

Sakura nodded, somewhat expecting the latter situation. Even on a manageable day back when she pulled shifts at the Konoha Hospital, chakra exhaustion was a constant bugbear that she fought. From the noise level in the medic base, Sakura had a pretty good idea of the number of injured being brought in.

They were going to need to expand the medic base.

"Sakura?"

Sakura turned her attention back to Shizune, who was now gesturing at something near her feet. Sakura looked down and saw the sand-cat pressed close to her, purring.

"We cannot have a cat running around the medic base and getting underfoot at every opportunity."

Sakura frowned, "Shizune nee-san, if animal allies aren't allowed here, then why is Tonton allowed to stay?"

"Tonton is assisting in the transportation of medical supplies."

"Mr. Fluffy-kins can do that, too!"

Shizune blinked, silently mouthed the cat's name, and plainly shuddered. The sand-cat glared at the brunette, tail waving slowly and deliberately.

"Then consider it from this perspective, Sakura – I understand that your cat is being coveted by a group of Suna kunoichis," began Shizune.

"Understatement of the year," muttered Sakura, remembering the looks the Suna kunoichis shot her way just a few days ago.

"Well, what if they decide to try to kidnap your cat here in the medic base, where it is full of injured shinobis, breakable medical equipment and…"

Sakura held up a hand and sighed in defeat, "Okay, Shizune nee-san, you've made your point. I'm going to send Mr. Fluffy-kins back to Kazekage-sama."

Shizune smiled, "Besides, you have Katsuyu-sama if you get lonely."

"It's not the same," then Sakura turned her neck to peer at the slug summon inside her collar, "No offence, Katsuyu-san, but I can't really cuddle you to sleep."

Katsuyu did what Sakura assumed to be the slug equivalent of a shoulder shrug.

"Come on, Mr. Fluffy-kins," Sakura beckoned the cat to leave the tent with her.

Once Shizune was certain that both kunoichi and cat were out of earshot, she sighed aloud.

Sakura might be a formidable kunoichi and an amazingly talented medic, but she could not name anyone or anything sensibly to save her life.

* * *

><p>The unexpected had happened again.<p>

Gaara was with the ranking officers of the 4th Division just outside his tent where they were having a rundown of the battles that transpired yesterday, when a cloud of sand started to materialise over his head.

The sand-cat appeared just as suddenly, and landed neatly on Gaara's shoulders.

As if on cue, everyone in the vicinity tilted their head backwards, waiting for the sight of a pink-haired kunoichi falling from the sky.

When a solid minute had passed, and it became clear that Sakura was not going to pay them a surprise visit like the last time, Gaara turned his attention to the purring feline that was rubbing the top of its sandy head against his ear. He gently pulled the sand-cat off his shoulders and held it in front of himself.

"Why are you here, Mun?"

The sand-cat lifted its head slightly, showing off a purple bow tied around its neck with a piece of paper tucked under it. Gaara put the sand-cat on the ground before reaching to undo the ribbon and retrieve the note.

"Kazekage-sama,

Shizune-san has prohibited Mr. Fluffy-kins from the medic base, so I'm sending him back to you for now.

PS: Please keep him safe from any scheming kunoichis.

Sincerely,  
>Haruno Sakura."<p>

"Is there a matter of concern, Kazekage-sama?" asked one of his officers.

Gaara – 'Regimental Leader of the Allied Shinbi Forces', 'Fifth Kazekage' and now 'Sakura's Designated Pet-Sitter' – simply shook his head and resumed where they left off before the sand-cat appeared, taking care to tuck the note deep inside his pocket where it would not accidentally fall out.

The rumour mill would spontaneously combust if it ever found out that he was having a sort of joint-custody with Sakura in regards to the sand-cat.

* * *

><p>Shizune was not exaggerating when she said that the number of incoming casualties was overwhelming, as Sakura found out; she had her suspicions already when Shizune relented too easily to her request to be put on active duty. Due to her position as senior medic, Sakura found herself being constantly consulted by the civilian doctors, most of whom had no idea on how to deal with genjutsu and more severe shinobi weapon-inflicted wounds.<p>

She did not even realise that she was well into her second concurrent shift until a sudden hush spread throughout the base, causing her to look up from the stack of medical files she was perusing.

There was a flare of chakra from outside her tent, and Sakura glanced at the nearby clock in dread – it was well over eleven o'clock.

Lifting the tent flap, Gaara walked in. Just before the flap fell back into place, Sakura could see that a group of doctors and shinobis alike have gathered around, obviously wondering why the Regimental Leader of the Allied Shinobi Forces was visiting the medic base at such an hour. A few heads were ducked low, trying to peer into the tent to see whom the Kazekage was meeting.

Inwardly, Sakura groaned – both at her own carelessness for missing her ten o'clock with Gaara, and also at Gaara for, well, just being here. Now even the medic base was going to be rift with rumours about her relationship to the Kazekage.

"Haruno-san, you're…"

"Late. I know, Kazekage-sama, and I apologise. I've been completely caught up with my work, but that is no excuse for me to neglect my promise. Is it possible that you give me half an hour to brew you the chakra tea so you can take it back to your camp in a thermos flask?" Sakura started to put away the files to clear a space for the task ahead.

"I'm afraid I've to reject that proposal, Haruno-san."

Sakura turned her head slowly to face Gaara, uncertain if she had heard him correctly. Her hands had stilled in their task, leaving her clutching onto a stack of files with seemingly no plan to put them down.

"Kazekage-sama?"

"We shall have the tea together at our tent, Haruno-san," Gaara began, and quickly held up a hand to stop Sakura from voicing any protests, "You have been working the entire day away, and I am sure your chakra can use some replenishing as well."

Sakura baulked, then came back to herself, "Kazekage-sama, we are not allowed to perform chakra-based healing unless it is a life-or-death situation. I've been performing my duties with standard medical equipment all day long, so I've not in danger of chakra exhaustion."

Gaara snorted, walked over to Sakura, and bent down to whisper in her ear, "Then tell me how you have been able to remove genjutsu this entire time without using any chakra; and how you closed open wounds more neatly than even the most experienced surgeons could. Or shall I tell Shizune-san that you've been disobeying her orders? She is the commanding officer of the medic corps, after all."

Gaara smirked as he drew back, and Sakura shivered. Whether it was because of his previous proximity or his 'little' threat to tell on her, she was not sure.

"It… gets the job done?" She offered up with a meek smile.

"And puts you at a risk that can be easily avoided," he was unimpressed with her answer, "The fact remains that you've used your chak…"

Gaara was just as surprised as Sakura when the latter jumped up and clamped her hand over Gaara's mouth. Gaara, at Sakura's boldness; Sakura, at Gaara's blatant attempt to get her into trouble.

"Are you trying to get Shizune nee-san on my case, Kazekage-sama?" She hissed.

Gaara reached up to gently pull his hand away from her mouth, but did not let go of it when he spoke again, "If that is what it takes to get you to spare more concern towards your health, then the answer is yes."

They glared at each other for a moment before Sakura heaved a sign and conceded defeat, "Okay, okay – you win, Kazekage-sama. Just give me a minute to put these files away properly."

Gaara waved his hand, commanding his sand to neatly stack the medical files into a pile before carrying them off into the filing cabinet.

Sakura could only stare at him.

"Done. Shall we go now?" Gaara gestured towards the tent flap.

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling the beginnings of a throbbing headache. If there was one thing that she knew for sure about Gaara, it was that once he wanted something, he would have it one way or another.

He was probably even more stubborn than she was – a cosmic impossibility.

"Are we traveling by sand, or on foot?" She asked, barely managing to mask the irritation in her voice.

"There is quite a gathering outside of this tent. I presume you'd want to avoid fuelling the rumours by walking out hand-in-hand."

Sakura looked down at their joined hands, and promptly yanked hers away as if burnt, then rubbed it for good measure. If Gaara was offended by the gesture, he said nothing.

In fact, was that a little quirk of his lips right there?

Sakura decided that she was better off not noticing certain things. "Well, we better get going, Kazekage-sama. The tea doesn't brew itself, you know."

"If it did, I wouldn't be here."

How could a man be so infuriating one moment, and so humourous the next?

Gaara turned around and walked out of the tent first, with Sakura close behind; she was his subordinate after all, and had to follow his lead.

Except for a few civilian doctors, the group of nosey parkers had mostly dispersed by the time they both emerged from the tent. Sakura was grateful that at least the shinobis had enough common sense to not be caught blatantly eavesdropping – not that there was anything incriminating to be overheard in the first place.

Someone was walking towards them at a quick pace, and Sakura immediately recognised the person as Shizune. There was a knot of displeasure in the woman's brows, and Sakura knew that she was in for a scolding of some sort.

Someone must have overheard them, and went to squeal on her use of chakra-based healing.

Gaara turned to check what had caught Sakura's attention, then looked over to the pink-haired woman. Shizune's presence was obviously distressing her.

"We will travel by sand – it is much faster," decided Gaara spontaneously.

Sakura barely even had time to blink before Gaara drew her closer by taking her wrist, and summoned up a cloud of enveloping sand. By the time she did actually finish blinking, Sakura found herself back inside their dimly-lit shared tent.

Poor Shizune was left standing open-mouthed at the spot where Gaara and Sakura stood only a second ago.

Did the Kazekage just openly aid Sakura in escaping her wrath…?

Back at the tent, Gaara was giving Sakura a moment to orientate herself; transportation by sand can be a disconcerting experience, and her rapid blinking could be construed as such a sign.

When Sakura finally looked up, she was greeted by the sight of Gaara's table, empty except for a tea set and some brown-wrapped packages which she assumed to contain herbs. The sand-cat, which hovered in and out of Sakura's thoughts throughout the day, was discreetly licking at the rim of the honey jar; this was an oddity in itself, since the cat was made of sand and did not require actual sustenance.

Sakura detected warmth from within the carpeted tent – something she was not expecting in the desert. When she searched for the source of the heat, she saw a small stove placed in the centre of the tent with a fire already roaring away inside of it.

The only thing missing from this scene was Sakura herself, brewing the tea.

"Gaara." There was a sound barrier – they would be free to address each other without the formalities. "You have every single item in place here. I really hope I'm not just here to make the tea and be sent off straightaway."

_And back to the medic base where Shizune nee-san is going to double my punishment for… whatever I did combined with Gaara's quick getaway._

"I have mentioned that I wanted you to join me, didn't I, Sakura?" Gaara replied.

Oh. Right.

Sakura picked up the tea set and packages, knelt down next to the stove, and began unwrapping the herbs. To her surprise, Gaara walked to the space across her and sat down, his eyes trained on her working hands.

Sakura gave him a pointed look which eventually gave way to a grin, "It's good that you are taking an interest in learning how to brew the chakra-replenishing tea yourself, Gaara; it will save me the trouble of having to personally brew it for you."

Gaara pondered her words for a moment. "You are correct, Sakura. In fact, I can quite easily skip consuming this aromatic tea without you badgering me about it from now onwards, if you don't come by every night henceforth."

"Gaara, did you just… threaten me?" Sakura gaped.

She was not about to fail in her duties as a personal medic, and yet here was her charge stating that he would be quite happy to undo all her hard work up till now, dammit!

The redhead gave her an affronted look, "Of course not, Sakura. I do not threaten people; you have known about my feelings towards this drink from the very first time you gave it to me."

"Just man-up and drink it, Gaara!"

Oh, stars – did she just tell the Kazekage, a leader of one of the Five Shinobi Nations, to "man-up"?

Sakura waited with bated breath for the scolding that was sure to come for her insolence, but a rather different sound emerged from Gaara's throat.

He was… laughing?

Sakura looked up from her work, taken aback to see a pleasant flush on Gaara's face as he laughed at her antics.

"I've never had someone speak so boldly to me before," Gaara managed between bouts of laughter, "It is… different."

"Gaara, I meant no disrespect, I was…"

"… You were just speaking your mind," finished Gaara for her, "Don't ever apologise for your honesty, Sakura."

Inwardly, Sakura sighed with relief. She would have to thank Naruto sometime; his brashness of words and actions probably played a part in rendering Gaara immune to them, given the amount of visits that Naruto made to Sunagakure since they rescued Gaara.

"Actually, I would like to apologise, Sakura."

Sakura looked up so quickly that she nearly knocked over the kettle, not believing what she just heard.

"Our interactions have been casual as of late, and I fear that I might have offended you in our banters," there was really nothing else to call what they had been doing, "I'm not used to being able to speak so freely to another woman, and I might have overstepped certain boundaries. If I have, I must ask for your forgiveness."

Sakura blinked owlishly, still not quite believing her ears. Was Gaara apologising for the element of coquettishness in their conversations?

"Gaara, it takes two hands to clap; or in this case, it takes two voices to have a conversation," Sakura smiled kindly at him, "I enjoy being able to verbally match wits with someone, and not worry about setting off a political disaster with the wrong choice of words."

It was the truth – under normal circumstances, she would have been in hot soup by now for her directness when speaking to the Kazekage. Tsunade had drilled in her time and again the need to be respectful, especially in the political arena. But with Gaara so close to her own age, and with his lack of airs as a Kage, she saw him more as a friend than a political figure.

"I'm glad to hear that," said Gaara.

Neither one of them spoke again until the tea was ready, which Sakura set on the tray and carried over to Gaara's table. Gaara stood up and took his seat, gesturing for her to do so as well.

Up until now, Sakura only ever had to prepare one cup of tea, so there was no question about who gets the first (and only) cup. However, now that Gaara had invited her to drink with him as well, she decided that she should serve him first out of respect for his position.

Gaara chose to wait, however, until she had poured a cup for herself before raising his slightly in a toast.

And downed it with his usual speed and grimace.

Sakura, though, having worked with these herbs on a regular basis, drank hers as if she was enjoying a cup of afternoon tea. Except for the fact that it was past midnight already.

Just as she finished her tea, the sand-cat leapt deftly onto her lap and crowded up against her chest, purring and rubbing itself against her vigorously. Sakura put down her cup and cuddled the sand-cat, smiling.

"I guess you missed me, didn't you, Mr. Fluffy-kins?" She teased.

The sand-cat purred harder and looked up at Sakura. Then Sakura did something Gaara did not expect.

She bent her head down and kissed the sand-cat smack on its muzzle.

Gaara managed not to drop his own cup in surprise, but he did fumble with it for a few moments, almost letting it slip through his fingers in the process, before he finally regained his composure and placed the cup on the wooden table with a firm "thunk".

Sakura, however, did not notice that. In fact, she was still giggling at the purring creature on her lap.

"Was that why you were licking the honey? Did you want a kiss from Mummy, Mr. Fluffy-kins?"

Gaara cleared his throat. Clearly, Sakura had completely forgotten that she was not alone in the tent.

Sakura blushed slightly at having been caught baby-talking to the sand-cat, and by the Kazekage, of all people. But she mustered up the courage to give him a grin; she was not going to hide her quirks just because they were… well, quirky.

"Sorry – I like to think of my pets as more than mere animal companions." She sounded anything but apologetic.

Gaara's memories flashbacked to the time when Temari bought a pet ferret home. His sister practically adopted the creature as a human child, carrying it everywhere she went, singing to it when she thought no one was around, giving it a new nickname every other day, and rubbing noses with it just to make Kankurou gag. At one point, the ferret was eating human-grade food, causing Kankurou to grouse that a rodent was getting better meals than he was. In turn, Temari scolded him for disrespecting her "precious little snookums" and deliberately not served her brother dinner for an entire week.

It must be a female thing to treat pets like babies, Gaara concluded.

"How does it feel to kiss a sand-cat?" he asked.

Sakura looked down at the sand-cat, then back at Gaara, commenting, "Well, it tastes sweet because of the honey, but it feels sandy at the same time."

Answered like a professional medic; and it was not the answer Gaara was looking for, but he decided to let it slide for now – there were more pressing matters to address.

"Sakura," she looked up as her name was called, "I've read the reports from yesterday's clashes, as have the war council. You probably already know that the 3rd Division encountered the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."

Sakura nodded; When she first heard the news from the injured coming into the medic base, she had rather embarrassingly lost her head for a moment and went rushing about to find out if Kakashi was alright. Once her fears of Kakashi being injured (or worse) proved unfounded, she heaved a sigh of relief and went straight back to work.

Gaara continued, "Hatake-san's report came back to say that the swordsman Momochi Zabuza, and his ally, Haku, had displayed more than just the signs of recognition that we expected the resurrected shinobis to have. Their emotions and thoughts seemed to be that of their own, rather than Kabuto's or Orochimaru's; although Hatake-san reported that later on, Kabuto appeared to have wiped their memories clean to make them more efficient killing machines.

"Now, why do you suppose that is? Why should Kabuto risk sending out shinobis that might hesitate to kill because of emotional attachments to the living?"

"I have been bothered by that question as well, Gaara. When Kankurou and I fought against Sasori, we didn't defeat with our own hands. In the end, it was Sasori who chose to end his own existence," Sakura watched as Gaara nodded, having read that part of Kankurou's report as well, "It is not likely to be an error on Kabuto's part, so I had suspected that something else might be afoot."

"Go on."

Briefly, Sakura wondered if Gaara should be discussing these questions with Shikamaru instead – Shikamaru was a far better strategist than she was, and would probably have at least three different conclusions for Gaara to ponder over by now.

"What if the emotions of the resurrected shinobis were not intended for themselves, but for their opponents? It will be one thing to kill a nameless enemy, and another to kill someone whom you loved or respected. How can a sane man bring himself to kill someone with human emotions and thoughts, even if he logically knows that the other person is nothing more than a puppet?"

Gaara's lips thinned, and his expression was grim. He reached for a scroll inside one of his table drawers and held it out to Sakura.

"This is the list of known resurrected shinobis, based on field intelligence."

Sakura took it, her hands trembling slightly. Slowly unfurling the scroll, she scanned the long list of names with a glazed look in her eyes.

Suddenly, her eyes settled on one name, and she muttered a soft, "Oh, no."

"Sakura?" Gaara reached for her trembling hand, clasping his fingers over hers gently.

"Sarutobi Asuma… he is Team Ten's former teacher. That is Shikamaru's team," she sounded stunned.

"Nara-san left to assist in the coastal defence yesterday," said Gaara, "I believe he must have encountered his former teacher by now."

Sakura's heart was racing. She never forgot the haunted look in Shikamaru's eyes during the weeks following Asuma's death. She had tried talking to him, but Shikamaru simply smiled and told her that he had everything under control.

Apparently, Shikamaru's idea of 'under control' meant blowing his teacher's killer to bits. Literally.

Gaara took one look at Sakura and knew at once that Sakura was contemplating rushing to Shikamaru's aid – a thought that did not sit well with him.

"Sakura, we must all deal with our own demons in this unholy war."

Then she remembered – Gaara would probably have to fight and kill his own father. Even if Gaara proclaimed to hate the man who damned his existence from the minute he was born, the fact remains unchanged: the Fourth Kazekage was still his father.

And did she not fight the puppet master who once almost succeeded in killing her? It was only her rage towards his crimes against Chiyo and Gaara that overrode her instinctive fear of Sasori and gave her the courage to battle him.

"I…" Sakura's limply placed the scroll onto the table and held the sand-cat closer, her eyes downcast, "I feel so helpless, just sitting back at the medic base and waiting for casualties to be brought in. I am a combat medic – I should be out there fighting with all my friends and teachers."

Gaara squeezed her hand, causing her to look up at him.

"Sakura, we all have our duties in this war. Yours is to heal, just as mine is to lead and fight when the time comes," Gaara saw no change in her expression, and so continued, "If making you a field medic will give you a greater sense of contribution towards this war, I shall assign you to the frontline in a few days' time. But I want you to understand that your true value as a medic shines when you are at the medic base, treating those who would have otherwise died in less skilled hands."

"Gaara, I am treating them with salves and scalpels! Any doctor can do that!" Sakura shouted in frustration.

"But not with the same care and dedication."

Then Gaara did the most astonishing thing: he lifted her hand to his face and quietly brushed his lips over her knuckles, the kiss lingering just a moment longer on the back of her hand before he looked back up.

Sakura was so stunned, she simply froze solid on the spot.

"These hands were made to heal, just as you saved my brother's life and mine," Sakura wanted to protest that it was Chiyo who healed him, but for some reason, she couldn't find her voice, "Sakura, you are a capable medic and kunoichi, and I am certain you will feel perfectly at ease whether you are on the battle field or in a medic tent. However, I do not wish to lose anyone precious to me, not when there are so few that I would give my life for."

"Gaara… I…" Sakura's speech stop-started a few times before she swallowed hard and looked Gaara in the eye; her hand was starting to feel clammy, "I won't die so easily. As you've just said yourself – I am a capable kunoichi. I will not take undue risks, and I promise I won't go rushing into a fight like Naruto always does."

Naruto was a safe topic; Naruto was their common link.

Also, there was the fact that Gaara was very much aware of Naruto's crush on her.

Oh, it was not that she had not considered Gaara as a potential partner – he had planted those thoughts into her head yesterday, and she could scarcely get rid of them now. Since the first day of her assignment to him as his personal medic, he had been nothing less than a perfect gentleman with her. He was easy to talk to, and definitely easy on the eye, if she had to force herself to admit it.

And most importantly, he had never saw her as anything less than an equal.

Perhaps except for when his male protective instincts kick in; but Sakura supposed it would be asking too much to expect evolution to undo several million years of work.

"Sakura, does this bother you?" Gaara spoke up, and used his free hand to gesture between them.

She swallowed once more, and replied, "It's too fast, Gaara. I… the circumstances…"

Sakura really, really wished that she was more eloquent under present conditions.

"We are shinobis, Sakura. Tomorrow is a luxury we cannot afford," Gaara took note of her widened eyes and decided to clarify himself, "I am not asking for your hand right now, so you need not look so terrified. I just want you to know that I am fond of you, and our time spent together."

Sakura was still too tongue-tied to say anything, and her silence only served to convince Gaara that he had messed up somehow.

Gaara lowered his forehead into his free hand, muttering, "I… forgive me. I am completely new at this."

His frankness was refreshing and comforting to hear; to know that she was not alone in this murky, uncharted world of emotional entanglements.

Sakura curled her hands around his, causing Gaara to look up. There was a look of mild confusion in his eyes as he looked from their joined hands and back to her face.

"We should get to know each other better as friends first," Sakura surprised herself with the decisiveness in her tone, "Whatever happens next, we'll let nature take its own course."

It made her heart clench ever so slightly, seeing the manner in which a smile slowly spread across Gaara's face.

"Of course, Sakura."

They continued to hold hands in comfortable silence.

Until Sakura's body betrayed her once more and she turned away to yawn.

She was just _so_terribly jealous of how Gaara could go without sleep for days on end, if he so wished.

"It is late, Sakura. Go to bed – you will be covering the morning and night shifts at the medic base tomorrow, if I am not mistaken," said Gaara.

"Have you been peeking at my schedule?" Sakura asked.

"Maybe."

"That could be classified as a stalker's behaviour, Gaara, if you weren't the Regimental Leader who naturally has access to all the field information."

They rose from their seats in tandem, still joined at the hands. No one was sure who was supposed to let go first.

The sand-cat which had been sitting on Sakura's bed and watching the entire proceedings made a half-purr, half-huff sort of noise, causing Sakura to jump slightly; she had practically forgotten about Mr. Fluffy-kins!

Gaara, on the other hand, was starting to ponder the wisdom of creating a sand-cat in the first place.

Sakura pulled her hands away first.

"Goodnight, Gaara."

She reached up to cup his cheek, and went on tip-toes to press a soft kiss to his cheek. Gaara's only reaction was to turn into a statue.

"Sweet, but sandy," grinned Sakura, as she pulled back.

Ah, his sand armour.

Gaara finally came back to himself as Sakura headed behind the screen, quickly making himself scarce by leaving the tent to give her some privacy to prepare for bed.

Once outside, he transported himself away to the cliff ledge where he had conversed with Sakura several days ago.

When he was certain that he was alone, he touched his hand to the cheek that Sakura kissed moments ago.

Did that mean that she was receptive to his courtship?

_Friends for now._

He had not missed how Sakura made reference to Naruto shortly after he kissed her. Naruto was his dearest friend; of this there was no doubt. And Naruto had spoken too admiringly about Sakura to have viewed her as merely a teammate.

Gaara felt like the worst traitor ever, to fall for the woman that his best friend had loved for so long.

On the other, there was a tiny part of him that silently rejoiced at the fact that Naruto did not fit what Sakura considered her ideal.

Still, he could not set aside the guilt gnawing away at his insides; Naruto and Killer Bee were being protected by the Allied Shinobi Forces, and here he was taking away Naruto's most important person.

Could he be called a thief, if he took what Naruto never had a chance to possess?

At the very least, Gaara was certain of one thing – nothing would be the same from now onwards.


	19. Chapter 19

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

For those who are wondering why I had Shikamaru and Sakura date in the past, it was mainly to serve as a contrast for Sakura's current feelings towards Gaara.

Plus, I think ShikaSaku is quite plausible. I have this whole side story in my head about them during the manga timeskip period. But let's focus on The Duty; that, and I really don't have time to do another fanfic.

Did you know that The Duty was meant to only be a distraction while I write a huge GaaSaku AU? Apparently, it took on a life of its own and the AU is now on the sidelines instead.

* * *

><p>Sakura's next few days at the medic base passed without much fanfare. Everything fell into a routine, and the only reminders of the ongoing war for her were the number of injured being brought in. Otherwise, nothing else has changed.<p>

Except that now, every once in a while, Gaara would reach for her hand and press his lips softly to her fingers before allowing her to depart; but only when they were alone.

On her end, Sakura did not kiss Gaara on the cheek ever since the first night. She was, in fact, questioning her boldness for doing so that time. But she would always smile softly at him just before she left the tent each morning.

They still had tea together every night, with Gaara making his occasional appearance at the medic base whenever Sakura failed to arrive at their tent at ten o'clock on the dot. Sakura would brew the chakra tea, and they would partake in discussions over the latest developments on the warfront.

Sakura once asked him about why he was willing to discuss military strategies with her. His reply was that he needed a fresh pair of eyes to look over their plans; his ranking officers were too closely involved in the war and might have missed the bigger picture.

Secretly, Sakura was flattered that he valued her opinion, and trusted her enough to disclose the otherwise guarded plans.

Sometimes, they would talk about other things.

"Favourite colour?"

Sakura sighed, "You know, everyone assumes that it's pink just because I have pink hair. Well, guess what – it's red. Everyone sees the pink hair and completely misses the fact that I wear a red forehead protector and a red top."

She took another sip of her tea, and asked, "What about yours, Gaara?"

"People assume it is red because of my hair colour," began Gaara, "And they are correct."

"Oh." Sakura grinned, "Well, at least one of us is happy with their natural hair colour."

"You don't like your hair colour?"

"I like it; I just don't like what other people assume because of it. I've met enough enemy shinobis who think I'm some meek little girl because of my pink hair to last me a lifetime."

Gaara propped his chin on one hand and smirked at her, "Then you proceed to destroy all their assumptions by splitting the earth with just your pointer finger."

They laughed often; Sakura was grateful for the sound barrier around Gaara's tent. Even if she was Gaara's personal medic, it would unseemly for her to be so casual around him.

She was not sure if they had ventured past the point of being just friends; she was perfectly comfortable with their current standing… whatever it might be. Gaara kissing her hand? A gentlemanly gesture, she told herself. She didn't think she could deal with the action being of romantic persuasions, seeing how life was just nice and ordinary for now. To become involved with a political figure, especially one of Gaara's status, had enormous consequences on the entire shinobi world. It would mean too many changes to her life.

Yes, normalcy. That was all she wanted.

The only trouble was that when things seemed a little too normal, Fate would always step in to throw a twist into Sakura's life.

* * *

><p>Today would be her last day of consecutive medic base duties, and Sakura was looking forward to the end of her shift – she would be able to request placement as a field medic even if Gaara had made his feelings known about her being on the frontlines.<p>

As the day progressed, Sakura found herself humming. Softly at first, then a little louder until her civilian colleague shot her a look that implied she was starting to make a fool of herself. That quickly sobered her up, and just in time for her subsequent visitor.

"Next patient!" Sakura called out.

Her next patient turned out to be none other than Hyuuga Neji.

"Neji-san!" She exclaimed, surprised to see him at the medic base.

She was truly flabbergasted to see Neji; in all her years at the hospital, she had never seen him there for treatment. Initially, she assumed that the Hyuuga clan might have their own doctors, until Hinata – the clan heiress herself – turned up at the hospital one day with a bad cough.

Then she recalled the chat with Ten Ten and Ino a little over a week ago. Ten Ten had told them about a particularly amusing quirk of Neji's – apparently, Neji had this macho-male thing going on that rendered him mute when it came to seeking medical attention. The last time Neji came down with a sneezing fit that went on for days, he still insisted that he did not need to go to the hospital. It took a pack of bubble gum, six pairs of fishnet stockings, a very determined Lee and a tiny bit of luck to subdue the stubborn Hyuuga male and drag his sorry, sneezing butt to the nearest clinic.

She gave him the once-over quickly – Neji seemed to be suffering from external injuries, but nothing life-threatening. The Neji that Ten Ten had described would have to be carried in on stretchers; that is if the other shinobis managed to load him onto it without getting their chakra points sealed off.

"Please take a seat here, Neji-san," Sakura gestured to a chair next to her workstation.

Neji sat down without any protests, causing Sakura to raise an eyebrow.

She decided she needed to check if the medic base has been breached, so she stated quite plainly, "Neji-san, I'm going to perform a little chakra test, if you don't mind."

Neji simply nodded, and Sakura injected a small amount of chakra into his system. Her goal was to locate the unique chakra signature given off by the Byakugan, and she was surprised when she managed to find it. She had never come across a technique that could duplicate another person's unique bloodline limit before, so this Neji _should _be who he claimed he was.

Maybe the war changed people; maybe Neji realised how important it was to stay in top fighting condition at all times, and was thus seeking treatment for his non-lethal injuries.

Plus, she still had other patients to see, so she concluded that she was just being overly-suspicious and promptly began to clean his wounds.

Sakura did not notice the sneer that was slowly spreading across Neji's lips.

* * *

><p>It should never have happened, but it did.<p>

The enemy had infiltrated the medic base, and had struck down three jounin medics within half an hour. Civilian doctors have not been attacked, so it was clear that the enemy was trying to wipe out as many shinobi medics as possible. It was a good plan, seeing how many of the injured required medical attention that was beyond the expertise of civilian doctors.

With Shizune currently indisposed, Sakura was automatically promoted to the highest ranking officer at the medic base, and it was her that the guards sought out once the murders were discovered.

The notion that the enemy had slipped in using genjutsu was quickly dismissed; the sensor shinobis would have caught onto it no matter how well-crafted the mask was.

Since the only patients allowed into the base were from the Allied Shinobi Forces, Sakura was forced to draw only one distasteful conclusion – Kabuto must have used an advanced mind-control technique to take over one of their own and was pulling the puppet strings right now.

_Anyone here could be the enemy._

"What is going on?" A masculine voice said.

"Ah, Neji-san," Sakura nodded to him, "It's like this…"

Neji listened as Sakura and the sensor shinobis recounted how the three dead medics were found and their theories on how the enemy might have broke past their security system. His face took on a thoughtful expression as he began to analyse the situation aloud, echoing Sakura's conclusion that the enemy had to be one of their own.

In all her born years, Sakura had never heard Neji so talkative before. She had gone on several missions with Neji leading the team, and Neji had always been more of a listener than a talker – allowing the rest of the team to voice their opinions before he would utter his one-sentence conclusion that usually meant the end of all discussions.

_The war really does change people_, Sakura mused.

"We need to inform Shizune-san about this. Jounin medics, please travel in pairs from now onwards, so there is at least someone you can trust," Sakura ordered, "Bring the deceased medics to the autopsy tent – we may be able to glean some clues about who the culprit is."

When the other shinobis left to carry out her orders, and Neji on his own hunt for the killer, Sakura heaved a sigh. This was not how she expected the day to go at all.

She returned to her tent, determined not to be too bothered by the events that had just occurred – there was the task of sending out requests for more medical supplies that Shizune that 'thoughtfully' left for her to complete.

And the materials were all in tent three.

Sakura left for tent three, unaware that she was being tailed.

* * *

><p>It should never have happened, but it did. Again.<p>

Haruno Sakura, chunin-level medic and beloved apprentice of the Hokage, was standing in front of a love-struck male shinobi that she had earlier treated. He had been following her around for the better part of the night, working up the nerve to confront her.

And he was now professing his love for her; in the form of a written confession no less.

"Oh, I…" Sakura flushed, scrambling for words that she knew would deter him, then threw him the oldest line in the book, "I'm really sorry, but there is someone that I…"

She could not finish her sentence. A man with dark red hair, his bearing regal, started to form in her mind.

_Oh._

Sakura wondered if she had really lied to her admirer.

The image in her mind's eye was interrupted, however, by her confessor wishing her success with her chosen before he retreated with more grace than a just-rejected shinobi should have.

This war against Akatsuki was complicated enough already; she did not need to be fending off romantic propositions too, dammit!

For just one absurd moment, Sakura considered if she should adopt brusquer bedside manners when treating the injured, just to avoid a repeat of this scenario.

"Sakura?"

Inwardly, Sakura cursed herself for having been distracted enough to not notice that Neji had entered the tent. She quickly pushed aside the forms that she was filling out and turned to face him.

"I don't blame you for being upset," began Neji, "After all, we have an unknown enemy sneaking around in our midst."

This time, Sakura _knew _something was off about Neji.

It was not that Neji was usually cold and distant towards his teammates. On the contrary, he was ever-alert to their needs and would see that they were met – to ensure success of their mission, naturally.

Last year, she had traveled with Neji to Tetsu no Kuni, and some native shrubs had caught her eyes. They appeared to be silver poinsettia-like plants – something that Sakura had never seen before. She really wanted to stop to take a sample home for study, but she knew that Neji would not indulge such frivolous activities when there was a mission to complete.

So she was taken by surprise when upon conclusion of their mission, Neji called her aside and quietly gave her a clay plant pot. He had not said a single word about the plants, and Sakura was convinced that she did not stare that long at them, but Neji had noticed her interest in them and decided to do something about it.

Neither of them spoke openly about the flowering shrub, not even when her teammates started wondering aloud about when Sakura practically skipped all the way back to Konohagakure with the freshly-potted plant. And that suited Neji just fine.

Neji would look out for his comrades, but he would _never_ openly talk about it.

And 'Neji' right now was expressing concern vocally like it was going out of style.

But Sakura needed to be sure – she did not want to pummel Ten Ten's crush into oblivion without being absolutely certain that he was the enemy in disguise.

"Can you direct me to Shizune-san's tent, Sakura?" asked 'Neji'.

"Did you discover something important? What is it?"

'Neji' turned his head slightly to look at Sakura over his shoulder, "I discovered something. It may not be important, but you can never know. It is better to be on the safe side, so I need to relay that information to Shizune-san."

Now Sakura was one hundred and one percent convinced that something was amiss. Neji never did things by half – either he had discovered the whole truth, or else he would not even be here. He was not one to go around reporting small bits of hearsay or clues that might lead to nothing.

"I believe Shizune nee-san is in tent B-2. However, she is busy treating Tonton for a twisted leg from transporting too many medical supplies."

"Well, that is better than a twisted hand, isn't it?" said 'Neji'.

_Gotcha._

"It definitely is – can you imagine a shinobi going onto the battlefield and not being able to form hand seals?" Sakura smiled as if she was sharing a joke.

"Indeed," nodded 'Neji', then he lifted one arm towards her, "Sakura, can I trouble you to look at my arm again? I'm still feeling some pain in it."

_Oh, stars. This guy doesn't even have Neji-san down right! Neji would sooner die than admit his injuries are bothering him._

Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, Sakura waved to the empty seat, indicating that 'Neji' should take it. She pretended to take out some medical equipment, and the sudden burst of killing intent that emitted from 'Neji' was all she needed to make her move.

Sakura squarely rammed her elbow between his shoulder blades, slamming him face-down into a small crater that the impact of her blow had created. She made sure to hit a few pressure points along the way – specifically, those that would trigger unbearable pain.

'Neji' gasped, spitting out blood as he muttered, "What… how did you know…?"

"Since when did piglets have hands, 'Neji-san'?"

Sakura watched as the form of Neji melted away to reveal one of the White Zetsu clones, reminiscent of the one that she had obliterated on her first scouting mission with Kakashi.

This time, she had no need to hold back as she rained blow after blow on the enemy's limp body.

Only when Sakura was certain that Zetsu no longer posed any threat that she lifted him up deftly and demanded to know how he had managed to sneak into the camp under the guise of Hyuuga Neji.

What she learnt next disturbed her so much that she almost lost her grip on Zetsu.

Zetsu might not have been forthcoming about how he was able to mimic Neji down to his chakra signature, but one memory jumped to the front of Sakura's mind. She recalled reading Yamato-taichou's reports about the attack at the Kage Summit by one of the White Zetsu clones, and how he was able to drain chakra from his opponents.

It would not be too far-fetched to conclude that Zetsu was able to take the form of the chakra bearer that he had drained, and used that to fuel his outwards appearance and fool even the sharpest of sensor shinobis.

"You use other shinobi's chakra as more than a mere facade – you are able to change your body to completely mimick the chakra owner's, am I correct?" Sakura stated more than she asked.

"I'm not telling you anything," the White Zetsu replied, sneering.

Sakura mirrored his sneer, and said, "That just confirmed it for me."

Then something occurred to her – when she had obliterated that White Zetsu clone with just one punch on her first (and only) scouting mission, she had felt a pinprick along her skin, as if someone had slipped a needle under her skin to drain away her chakra. Now, she was positive that it had not been her imagination.

_Gaara._

It was no secret that Haruno Sakura had been assigned to the Regimental Leader as his personal medic, and if there was a White Zetsu clone posing as her right now and entering the Kazekage's tent, no one would bat an eyelid.

Gaara life could be in danger at this very moment.

Irrationally, she wanted to rush to his side first, but her logical self gave her a sound mental slap.

Sakura had to report her findings to the war council first; the White Zetsu army was enormous, and there was no telling how many secret assassinations might have already happened because of his ability to steal and use chakra to walk among their numbers.

Handing the half-dead Zetsu off to some guards, Sakura dashed off to locate the nearest shinobi from the Intelligence Division.

She prayed that her fears for Gaara's safety would be unfounded, but she knew at the same time that the price on his head was immense. If the enemy were to take out their field leader, this war was as good as lost.

_Gaara, you better not die before I get to you!_


	20. Chapter 20

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

THANK YOU for breaking 300 reviews! However, I especially want to thank those who took the time to write out long, thoughtful reviews that were definitely helpful to me in one way or another.

I love you guys!

PS: When do you think we'll break 400 reviews? :D

* * *

><p>Gaara was taken by surprise when two shinobis from the Intelligence Division requested an immediate audience with him. Unless there was something extremely urgent, he would only convene with the Intelligence Division each morning.<p>

"Kazekage-sama, we have received news from the Intelligence Division at the war council. There have been an alarming number of assassinations among our shinobis in the past hour."

"What about our Division? I have not heard any reports of such occurrences from my men at all."

"As of now, Kazekage-sama, it appears that we have not yet been breached… excuse me, but there's something new coming in from the council."

The Intelligence Division shinobi with his elaborate communication headgear and backpack grew silent as he listened to the latest reports. A minute later, he turned to his companion and whispered something while peering discreetly at the Kazekage.

"Do not keep any information from me." Gaara's expression was harsh.

"I'm sorry, Kazekage-sama. It appears that Haruno Sakura-san from the medic base has discovered the cause behind these assassinations. She has reported that the White Zetsu clones that we have fought against have the ability to drain a person's chakra, then take on their form. In addition, they are able to mimic an individual's chakra signature so perfectly that our sensor shinobis are not able to tell them apart from the real shinobis."

Gaara rose from his table and walked towards the two shinobis, causing them to straighten their postures. Mun, which had been resting on an open scroll, looked up curiously.

"I want Nara-san summoned to my tent at once – send word out to the 4th Division's coastal defence team that…"

"Kazekage-sama!"

Sakura came bursting into the tent, then quickly covered her mouth with both hands as she blushed. Her sudden arrival caused one of the Intelligence Division shinobis to halfway pull out a kunai in surprise before he sheathed it once he realised that it was only the Regimental Leader's personal medic.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for interrupting! But I have important information for the Kazekage," apologised Sakura.

"It's quite alright, Haruno-san, I just received the intel from the war council as w…" Gaara did not have the chance to finish his sentence before the sand-cat suddenly stood up and bolted right past Sakura and out of the tent.

"Mun?" called out Gaara, perplexed by the sand-cat's actions.

The two shinobis looked to each other, then bowed to Gaara, "Kazekage-sama, we shall take our leave now to summon Nara-san."

Sakura shifted from one foot to another, looking extremely jumpy while the two shinobis walked out of the tent.

The moment they were gone, she walked closer to Gaara, but still maintained a respectful distance from him.

"Kazekage-sama, has there been any assassinations in the camp?"

"None, Haruno-san. I suppose it might be due to the fact that this segment of our Division has only been deployed as one-off backup a few times and returned within the same day – only Nara-san's half of the Division is currently fighting against the White Zetsu clones, and therefore there is a high chance that their security has been compromised."

Sakura heaved a sigh of relief, and Gaara held his tongue at her response: Sakura should be inquiring about Shikamaru right away, as was her nature to care for her friends. In addition, he had not seen Sakura since this morning, and with the news that there were doppelgangers among them, Gaara decided that he had to be on his guard.

Even against Sakura.

"Haruno-san?" asked Gaara, "Why do you suppose the enemy has chosen to attack at night? Wouldn't it be better to carry out the assassination amidst the chaos of the daytime battles?"

"It is in my senior medic's opinion that they wish to sow discord among the Allied Shinobi Forces at a time when they should be resting and recharging for the next day's battle, so they will be less efficient fighters," replied Sakura.

Sakura spoke with supreme self-confidence, as one would expect of a Kage's apprentice. That in itself was a problem, as Sakura was indeed a confident woman, but not one to boast of her position.

He had to test her to find out if she was really Sakura and not a White Zetsu clone, but what should he do or ask of her that would let him know without a doubt that she was for real?

The answer came so quickly and easily, that Gaara wanted to give himself a good beating.

_If I took off my clothes, the real Sakura would go into a panic for some odd reason…_

Gaara glowered, then started rubbing at his temples. Was that all his traitorous mind could come up with: the image of a flustered Sakura dropping his robes to the floor during their first night bunking together?

"Kazekage-sama?"

"This… all this is giving me a splitting headache, Haruno-san," Gaara turned to look at her, lifting his head slightly from his hand, "Can you give me a tension massage to help ease the pain?"

"Oh. Of course, Kazekage-sama. Please, take a seat."

"And my robes? Do I remove them as usual?" asked Gaara, inwardly bracing himself for a scream if this Sakura was for real.

Sakura nodded, and Gaara took off his outer robes to reveal his mesh shirt and shinobi pants. He cast his gaze to Sakura, who simply stood there serenely with her hands folded in front of her thighs.

She did not react as he had expected; a small part of him argued that since she just came off her shift of healing shinobis in various states of undress, the fact that he had removed _only _his robes might not have been enough to trigger a reaction. He had to be absolutely certain before he sent his sand at Sakura. Never mind that the sand-cat had just dashed out on them, or that Sakura was still addressing him using his formal title despite them being alone.

Gaara then tugged at his shirt, saying, "Should I get rid of the shirt too? It seemed to interfere with the efficiency of your healing."

Sakura nodded – "By all means, Kazekage-sama. We cannot have you entering the fray in a less-than-optimal physical condition."

The redhead pulled his shirt over and off effortlessly and placed it neatly on top of his discarded robes. He then sat down on the chair that Sakura usually occupied, his back presented to her.

Sakura did not go into hysterias about his state of undress, nor did she say a word about him sitting in another chair; these were bad news under present circumstances.

"You may begin, Haruno-san."

The woman claiming to be Sakura started walking towards Gaara.

And just like that, Gaara shot up from the chair and swiped his hand in Sakura's direction, immediately encasing her in a cocoon of sand. She was left exposed only from shoulders up.

Sakura blinked and started to struggle, "Kazekage-sama, what are you doing?"

Gaara approached the struggling kunoichi, hands now folded behind his back. His glare was nothing short of ferocious as he considered the unpleasant thoughts of the enemy wearing Sakura's skin so calmly and naturally.

"Drop your disguise, Zetsu," he commanded.

The game was up, and the struggling 'Sakura' ceased in his movements. The clone still did not change back to his original form, however.

"How did you know?" snarled Zetsu.

It was odd, addressing Zetsu while he wore Sakura's skin and voice, but Gaara went ahead anyway.

"First of all, Haruno-san and I don't address each other so formally all the time."

There was a commotion outside his tent, but Gaara recognised all the approaching chakra signatures. Despite the possible breach of the camp's security, he had one confirmed enemy right before him. There was no sense worrying about the may-be-clones.

The first two shinobis to enter were his own siblings, followed by Baki and a small group of night guards. The last one to arrive was the real Haruno Sakura, pushing her way forward and into the tent.

Just in time to hear Gaara blow up the rumour mill.

"Secondly, Haruno-san would never ask me to remove my shirt for a massage."

The rumour mill spontaneously combusted, scattering debris all over a hundred kilometers radius.

"You know, I'm going to reconsider running for the position of Kazekage. The perks are really… OUCH!" Kankurou yelped after Temari gave him a sound thwack upside his head.

"And finally," Gaara lit the proverbial fuse and heaved a very long string of explosive tags, "Haruno-san's skin smells like pomegranates. You smell only of death."

Oh God, the bits of the rumour mill? Just caught on fire and was burning everything to charred waste in a _two _hundred kilometers radius.

Everyone, including Zetsu, turned to look at a very stunned Sakura.

Sakura's first instinct was to punch a crater in the ground and jump right in; there were just far too many pair of ears listening in, and 'Death by a Suna Kunoichi Dogpile' seemed like the epitaph they would be writing on her gravestone.

_Curse you, scented hand cream!_

Sakura was a kunoichi, and she understood the dangers of wearing scented products – they might give her away if she were performing an ambush or tailing someone. The pomegranate-scented hand cream was her only indulgence after Tsunade explained that a medic's hand must not be scarred or calloused, lest it interferes with the precision of her chakra directing. Pinpoint accuracy was required, especially for surgeries and poison extraction, the latter of which Sakura was widely regarded as an expert in.

Shizune offered her a scentless hand cream, but Sakura found it too sticky. It took her two months to finally find the one hand cream that could be quickly absorbed and worked well for her skin. Because of its scent, Sakura made sure to use the hand cream only if she was not on missions. Her past few days were spent in the medic base, so she had been quite liberal with its application.

This blasted hand cream was probably what Gaara smelled whenever he kissed her hand. But the way he had phrased it made it sound as if Sakura wore it over her entire body and Oh, Stars, it made it sound like they were in a physical relationship.

Sakura steadied her breathing to prevent herself from hyperventilating.

"It seems I underestimated both you and your personal medic, Kazekage-sama," sneered Zetsu, "But it is of no matter now – we have taken out a substantial number of your forces already. Tonight, the lands run red with the blood of your shinobis."

Sakura forced herself to ignore all the eyes on her as she marched up to the encased White Zetsu clone, then demanded, "Dispel the chakra cloak, Zetsu. It's really creepy to hear myself saying all these."

"And what are you going to do about it, kunoichi?" challenged Zetsu.

"This."

Gaara released Zetsu from his sandy prison, dropping him within Sakura's punching range. With a roar and a blow so fast that she must have broken the sound barrier, Sakura struck Zetsu right in the back of his neck with a downwards punch that sent him so far underground, there was only pitch blackness when she looked in.

Every single person who just witnessed Sakura's rage became deathly silent. The sound of Zetsu's neck snapping still echoed in the tent. No one dared to move a muscle, except for Gaara who was calmly pulling back on his mesh shirt and robes.

Sakura peered down into the crater and made a snort of distain.

"How did it feel to hit yourself, Haruno-san?" asked Gaara as he finished tying his sash.

"You know, it was surprisingly cathartic. I've always wanted to beat up an evil twin."

Gaara smiled as if it was the most natural answer in the world. He then turned to the small congregation of shinobis.

"The malicious chakra detection field should have activated only after I caught that White Zetsu clone, yet I could sense all of you moving towards the tent long before that. Is there something I should be aware of?" asked Gaara.

All the shinobis present looked at one another, and it was obvious that no one knew who should speak up first.

Finally, it was Baki who stood forward and lifted his arm ninety-degrees from his body.

There, hanging onto the sleeve of his shirt by its teeth, was very familiar, angrily growling sand-cat.

"Mr. Fluffy-kins!" Sakura yelped in mortification as she rushed forward to grab the cat around its waist and started pulling.

Except the sand-cat was still growling, ears pulled back and apparently not interested in letting go of Baki anytime soon.

"Omygod omygod omygod. Mr. Fluffy-kins! _Please_ let go of Baki-san!" pleaded Sakura.

Baki could only stoically allow his arm to be tugged along while Sakura tried to pry the sand-cat free. One of the shinobis began to snicker, and Baki subtly backhanded him into silence.

"Mun," commanded Gaara, "Let go. Your Mummy is here. The clone is gone."

The sand-cat gave a twitch of its ear and finally released its hold on Baki. It smacked its lips as it looked over its shoulder at Sakura and just as suddenly reverted back to his old self, purring and rubbing itself all over Sakura's neck.

"Baki-san, I'm so sorry about what Mr. Fluffy-kins did," apologised Sakura as the sand-cat proceeded to groom the top of her head.

"It's alright, Sakura-san. In fact, it was a good thing that I was summoned by the sand-cat. The Kazekage's life was being threatened, and somehow, the sand-cat knew ahead of time."

'Summoned' was a mild way of putting things. Baki was talking with Gaara's siblings over the campfire when the sand-cat appeared out of nowhere and leapt right for him, purring loudly.

And promptly attached itself to Baki's shielding arm by its fangs.

At first, no one knew what to do. Hitting the sand-cat was out of question, seeing how it was made of the Kazekage's sand, and therefore his property; one does not go around assaulting the Kazekage's possessions unless they were feeling particularly suicidal.

Sensing that no actions were going to be taken in spite of its efforts, the sand-cat started growling as it gnawed on Baki's sleeve.

It was Kankurou who remembered how the sand-cat had came rushing to Sakura's aid when she was poisoned, and he concluded that the sand-cat was trying to tell them that Sakura was in danger. A small group of night guards were quickly gathered and went charging towards Gaara's tent AKA Sakura's sleeping quarters. They were surprised when Sakura came running up from the distance, demanding that they needed to go to the Kazekage's tent right now as it was his life that was in danger instead.

They didn't need to be told twice.

None of them, however, were prepared for the sight of a shirtless Gaara standing in front of a sand-encased Sakura. Especially the real Sakura.

Gaara looked at the sand-cat, wondering if it was because it was able to detect the malicious chakra from the clone, or was it simply a case of it recognising that the clone was not the real Sakura, that caused it to rush out in search of help.

"Our security system has been compromised. I want all my ranking officers brought here at once, including Nara-san the moment he arrives," Gaara turned towards his siblings, "Baki-san, Kankurou, Temari and Haruno-san, stay here."

While the rest of the shinobis scrambled off to execute Gaara's orders, the four individuals that Gaara called out for walked further into the tent. Temari and Kankurou looked at each other, wondering what their younger brother was planning.

"I understand that Nara Shikaku-san is currently analysing the situation and trying to come up with a way of telling the clones from our own shinobis. However, we cannot afford to have mistrust amongst us, especially among my officers. I need to make sure that you are who you claim to be."

Gaara turned to Baki, "Baki-san, since Mun sought you out, it is clear that it knew you were not an enemy in disguise, so I need not test you."

Baki shook his head, "Kazekage-sama, I must insist on being tested. We still do not know how the sand-cat was able to tell that the Sakura-san clone was actually a White Zetsu in disguise."

Gaara inclined his head in agreement, "I am going to ask each of you a question that only the real person will know the answer to, so as to confirm your true identity."

Kankurou groaned, knowing exactly which question his brother was going to ask him.

"Kankurou, what is the name of the porcelain doll you keep at the headrest of your bed?"

Smacking his forehead, Kankurou replied in a long-suffering tone, "It's not a doll, Gaara – it's a collectible, antique, pre-Kage era human model."

A cricket perched on a blade of grass outside of the tent chirped twice.

"… And her name is Sarabella."

Gaara nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer. He turned to Temari and asked, "And what eventually happened to your pet ferret?"

Temari gave a little squeak of embarrassment, and quietly approached Gaara to whisper the answer in his ear. To that, Gaara nodded as well.

Kankurou didn't know what all the fuss was about; the ferret was there one day, and gone the next. At first, he was worried that it had gone and built a nest inside one of his puppets again, but after an exhaustive search during which he nearly tripped two of his own booby-traps, there was no sign of the ferret at all.

_Good riddance._

Temari had been oddly quiet about it, and it was as though the ferret had never existed in the first place.

One day, Kankurou decided, he would ask Temari exactly what happened to the little rodent.

It would have to be the day that he was tired of living, of course.

"Baki-san, we have a rescue protocol for the possible event of me being kidnapped as a child by others seeking to use Shukaku for their own ends. Only you and my father know about it. What is the codename for that protocol?"

Baki glanced around the tent, wondering if it would be appropriate to give the answer aloud. Gaara gestured to him that it would be alright to do so.

"'Tanuki Retrieval'."

Sakura could see that Gaara's siblings were trying their best not to laugh out loud, but they seemed to be on the verge of bursting at the seams.

Gaara finally turned his attention to her. His eyes were on the sand-cat now perched on Sakura's shoulder, purring fondly and rubbing against Sakura's cheek.

"Haruno-san, the sand-cat's affections towards you is answer enough. You need not be tested."

"Hey, no fair!" protested Kankurou.

Shikamaru chose this exact moment to signal his arrival by flaring his chakra signature.

"You may enter, Nara-san." The sound barrier worked to protect the occupants of the tent from being overheard, but Gaara had been instructed on how to lower it at will in case of an emergency, or if he did not feel like walking to the tent flap to answer every chakra flare each time.

Shikamaru lifted the tent flap, taken aback to see so many people inside the Kazekage's tent at this hour. He took his place next to Sakura, and did his best to avoid acknowledging the daggers that Gaara was glaring his way.

Sakura, in the meantime, was blissfully clueless about the animosity between the two males.

"Nara-san, you must have heard the report from the Intelligence Division by now."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama. It does explain the number of mysterious deaths among those under my command. I understand that my father is trying to find a solution for us as we speak."

Gaara nodded, and said, "I need to ensure that my ranking officers are not wolves in sheep's clothing, so I am going to ask you a question that only you can answer, Nara-san."

Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow, wondering exactly what sort of a question Gaara was going to pose him. It was not as if they talked very much beyond military matters, and they could not even be called friends, so how much personal information could he have about Shikamaru to know he's dealing with the real one?

"Nara-san, on the day that Haruno-san was poisoned, you mentioned to me about her favourite…?" Gaara deliberately left the question hanging in mid-air.

Sakura did not make any movements towards Shikamaru, but he could almost feel her hands around his neck anyway.

Sighing, he decided to just get it over with – "Her favourite flower."

Gaara nodded just as Sakura burst out, "Shika-kun! So it was you who left that lily in my drinking flask! You could have found a vase, you know!"

Shikamaru gave her a look that implied she was barking up the wrong tree, but Sakura did not catch on until Gaara cleared his throat softly and replied, "It was me, actually, Haruno-san. I apologise, but there weren't any other vessels around for me to place the flower in."

Ignoring the startled expression on Sakura's face and Temari's mournful shaking of her head, Gaara turned to address all five individuals.

"I am going to place a few grains of my chakra-filled sand on each of you. It cannot be easily removed, and I will advise that none of you try doing so. Should any one of you approach me and I cannot sense my sand, I will treat you as I would an enemy," Gaara paused, "And that means I will kill you without hesitation."

With that, Gaara directed a small stream of sand from his gourd towards them, splitting it into four neat, small pinches that each attached to one individual.

Except for Sakura.

"What about me, Kazekage-sama?" she asked.

Not that she wanted grains of sand stuck on her body for the rest of the war, or until Shikaku-san came up with a plan, but it was odd that she was left out.

Gaara pointed at the sand-cat, saying, "Mun is proof enough that you are who you say you are."

"Stupid war," grumbled Kankurou, patting at the back of his neck where the sand grains decided to attached themselves, "We are all going to itch to death, and all Sakura needs is to walk around with a cat until we figure out who our allies are."

"Better to itch and scratch than be crushed by sand, little brother," intoned Temari sagely.

There was a flare of chakra from outside the tent, and Baki lifted the tent flap to see who it was. He then turned to Gaara and reported, "Kazekage-sama, your officers are here, including some shinobis from the Intelligence Division."

"Send them in. You are dismissed for now."

Sakura was about to leave with the others when Gaara stopped her just as the other officers began to enter the tent.

"Not you, Haruno-san. We still have our tea to drink. And you're staying for the night, as always."

The remaining bits of the rumour mill settled into the soil, and each grew into a gigantic rumour tree. They grouped together to form a forest as far as Sakura's eyes could see. Birds began to roost among the branches, and cute little critters scampered about the woodland. Everyone who came and stood in awe of the rumour forest would praise its bountiful foliage and abundance of chattering wildlife within and around it.

Sakura's life, as she knew it, was over.


	21. Chapter 21

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

**Thank you** to the reviewers who understand that keeping to a weekly schedule is really hard, especially when I'm trying not to succumb to romantic cliches!

Gaara's confrontation with his father is a lot harder to write than I expected. In the meantime, there will be additional scenes before that.

* * *

><p>Sakura gave one last stomp of her foot, causing pieces of earth and rock to crumble and fall into the crack she had thrown the White Zetsu clone in and effectively burying the body.<p>

"There," she concluded, dusting her hands off.

Gaara, in the meantime, was directing his sand to pack up the contents of their tent; they had both agreed that they did not want to sleep in a tent where Sakura just tore up the ground and buried a body in.

Not that Sakura was going to apologise for causing this bit of inconvenience.

There was only one piece of furniture that Gaara was unable to move: Sakura's bed. The sand-cat had dismantled it without being commanded to once it saw what was happening, and was currently lounging on one of the wooden planks. Its message was quite clear – it would not let the Kazekage touch its bed (well, the bed was Sakura's at night, but the sand-cat claimed ownership by merit of the amount of time it spent there).

Baki, as usual, offered to help them with the move. The hour was late; not to mention, Gaara was the Regimental Leader and Sakura was one of the higher-ranking officers in this war – such mundane tasks were below their station.

In response, Gaara sealed the tent flap with sand and Baki had no choice but to go and do the only other thing he could do – prepare another tent for them.

Sometimes, just sometimes – Gaara would remind Baki of how stubborn the Fifth Kazekage had been as a child. Except that he was not in danger of being crushed by sand because of said stubbornness now.

Most of the large tent decoys have been used for supply storage and would take a while to clear out. However, there was one that had been kept empty when Gaara mentioned that he would like a tent prepared for Sakura's use as a medical library. Sakura had been so busy between pulling shifts at the medic base and helping the Kazekage with his paperwork that she never got around to converting it into her personal library. It had been standing empty ever since.

It would do just fine.

The team of specialist shinobis who set up the protective barriers around Gaara's current tent was roused from their sleep or pulled from guard duty to re-erect the barriers on the new tent at once. No one complained, not when it was understood that they had to be battle-ready at all times.

Baki went back to Gaara's tent to let him know about the new tent's location. He gave the tent flap a gentle press – to check if Gaara had taken off his sand barrier.

No good.

"Kazekage-sama, Sakura-san," he called out, "I've assessed that you can move into tent H-7 immediately if you so prefer."

"Thank you, Baki-san!" came Sakura's reply.

There was no need to actively conceal which was Regimental Leader's real tent, not when the enemy was able to pass for one of their numbers so easily. But the Kazekage had proven more than formidable enough when it came to detecting and subduing the enemy shinobis, and with Sakura at his side? They were a force to be reckoned with.

Baki found himself agreeing with Kankurou – a Konoha bride would do wonders for their alliance, especially since their Kazekage seemed to be getting along so well with a certain Konoha kunoichi.

* * *

><p>"Sakura, I know the hour is late, but can you give me a verbal report of the attack by the White Zetsu clone on the medic base?" asked Gaara.<p>

Gaara's sand made short work of unpacking their belongings in the new tent, making the interior of their new tent an exact replica – down to the very last box of matches that always stood besides the kerosene lamp. They then sipped the chakra tea in atypical silence. Sakura was about to prepare for bed when Gaara's question came.

"I've already submitted a full report to the war council, but I'll be happy to answer any questions you have."

Sakura sat down next to him at his table, and now that she was finally not busy bustling around, Gaara could see that she was unusually jittery for some reason.

"Sakura," and there was a little jump right there, "Is everything alright?"

Sakura looked at him with wide eyes, opened her mouth as if ready to speak, and promptly clammed up once more.

He decided to take the risk and placed his hand over hers, looping their fingers together as he gave them a reassuring squeeze.

"Something is bothering you or upsetting you, Sakura. I want to know what it is."

"It's you." Her answer came abruptly.

Gaara blinked, "I don't understand."

Sakura pounded her temple with her free hand, and finally looked at Gaara. She was clearly miffed.

"Why on earth were you topless when you were handling that Zetsu clone that looked like me? Everyone who saw that scene immediately had the wrong idea!"

Ah. Of course she would be bothered by that.

"After you arrived, it should have cleared up any misconceptions. I'm really not seeing the issue here, Sakura."

"It's the fact that you were shirtless and handling someone looking like me!"

Alright, the female mind was a confusing thing. That part Gaara understood.

"Sakura, you are an experienced medic. Are you trying to tell me that an exposed male torso bothers you? If that is the case, how have you been able to perform your duties up till now?" Gaara frowned.

Sakura smacked her forehead into the heel of her palm and muttered under her breath.

"Okay," began Sakura, her shoulders rising and falling once with the deep breathe that she just took, "You. You were naked. And you were manhandling a person. A person that looks like me. Got it?"

"I was not naked – I was only topless, and… I see."

"And did you really need to 'remind' me about our sleeping arrangements in front of your officers?" Sakura was two steps away from an outright screaming fest. Gaara wondered if her reddened cheeks were due to her rage or her embarrassment.

Gaara was secretly amused; Sakura was uncomfortable with the idea of physical intimacy?

"Sakura, I'm not certain how to even begin courting you if you are so adverse to the idea of eventual physical closeness."

"Oh, stars, did you just use the word 'court'?" Sakura said, "And why are you thinking so far ahead about sex?"

Thank goodness for the sound barrier. Thank, thank goodness.

"I am a healthy, heterosexual adult male," Gaara stated plainly, shrugging in spite of the slight blush he was sporting.

Sakura tried willing away the pink from her own cheeks, but it was just about as futile as trying to shake off Gaara's hand right now.

"Just so we are clear on one thing, Gaara: I like you, but I'm not going to get frisky with you anytime soon."

Get… frisky?

Gaara had to bite back his snort of amusement.

Gaara nodded, "Then we are in agreement. I don't wish to taint what we have right now by taking a step that neither of us are ready for. I was first attracted to you for your mind, and that remains your key beauty to me."

Then he leaned in close to her ear, and whispered, "But honestly, Sakura, that thought had never occurred to me until your little panic just now over my lack of a shirt."

Would it be considered insubordination if she smacked him upside the head?

_"Hey, Shikamaru – is it true that guys think about sex every three minutes?"_

_"You have been reading Ino's trashy magazines again, haven't you?"_

_"Just answer the question, Shika-kun."_

_"I can't put a number on it, but once you hit puberty, you will be constantly thinking about sex regardless of your gender. If we are not interested in sex in our best reproductive years, the human race would have died out already, don't you agree?"_

_"Oh, eww."_

_"Don't 'eww' me, Sakura. It's strictly biology at work here."_

Gaara leaned back into his seat, finally releasing her hand. Sakura took the chance to compose herself.

Given Gaara's past, he had not grown up with much of physical contact. And when she first started her assignment as his personal medic, Sakura was only too aware of how often Gaara was surprised by a touch, though that did not seem to be so much of a problem nowadays.

Perhaps his musings on the process of human reproduction was simply a natural, albeit later than usual development for someone of his age.

At least she did not have to give him the 'birds and the bees' talk; she was grateful for the small favours.

Now Sakura understood what Ino meant when she was going on and on about how she found it hard to stay focused on her work when attending to attractive individuals. At that point, Sakura was too busy feeling weirded out that Ino considered her very own Kakashi-sensei as one of the attractive shinobis. She began to get inkling when Sai staggered up to her that one time in the hospital, clearly over-bandaged by Ino and on the verge of chewing an air hole in his wrappings.

And Gaara was very attracti… distracting. Very distracting.

_Snap out of it, Sakura! You're a medic; you must have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of male shinobis in various states of undress by now! Heck, you've even seen Shikamaru stripped down to his undies and you never lost it like this before._

"Now, Sakura, back to my question?"

"Huh?"

"About Zetsu's infiltration into the medic base? I want to know how you were able to discover that he was not whoever he claimed to be."

"Oh, of course," Sakura cleared her throat, glad that they were no longer lingering on her little breakdown, "It was a miscalculation on the enemy's part – they chose to infiltrate the base as someone I knew."

"Who might that be?"

"I don't know if you remember him, but he was Naruto's opponent during the final stage of the Chunin Examinations – Hyuuga Neji. Neji-san and I have been assigned together for several missions in the past three years, and while I still don't know him that well, I was able to tell that there were certain aspects of the clone that was out of character," explained Sakura.

"A Hyuuga… that means he has the Byakugan. So you are saying that the enemy is able to mimick the chakra signature of bloodline limit users as well?"

Sakura nodded, and Gaara's face took on a solemn expression.

"This is far beyond a simple chakra drain and using the chakra as a cloak. The White Zetsu clones must be molding the chakra somehow to make themselves a perfect physical copy inside-out," Gaara pondered aloud.

"That may be why these assassinations have not begun until now – the clones must have been busy working the chakra signatures into a more powerful tool."

Gaara turned to Sakura, "We should relay this information back to the war council. Can you let me talk to Katsuyu-san?"

Sakura blinked, not certain that she had heard him correctly. But when Gaara held out his hand, she was now sure that he had just voluntarily asked to speak to the animal summon which once tried to spit acid in his face.

She reached into her collar and gently plucked Katsuyu out, and then placed Katsuyu on Gaara's shoulder.

"Katsuyu-sama, can you please help the Kazekage pass on some information?" asked Sakura.

Katsuyu squelched in reply, generously oozing slime onto Gaara's shoulder as it did so.

With that, Gaara left the tent. Sakura was wondering why he chose to converse with Tsunade out in the open, until she remembered that she had been planning to prepare for bed before this whole brouhaha.

Sakura ducked into bed after changing into something more comfortable and hid as far into Gaara's robes as she could without suffocating, not missing the irony of the situation.

She did not have to put up with all these, Sakura told herself. She could insist on getting her own tent, and throw her weight around in the process if need be. Surely that would obliterate the now blooming Rumour Forest once they saw that the Regimental Leader and his personal medic were no longer sharing the same tent.

… Or they might just assume that she and Gaara had a lover's tiff, and were sleeping apart as a result.

Sakura tossed over in the bed and groaned into the robes, causing the sand-cat to purr in concern while pressing a paw to her arm. She looked at the cat for a moment before pulling it against her chest.

"My. Fluffy-kins, what possessed me to go into a relationship with your maker?" she asked the slightly baffled-looking sand-cat, "Is it because of his selflessness and desire to protect everyone? Is it because he sees me as a woman and a kunoichi rather than some helpless teenager? Or is it because of his oblivious sweetness towards me?"

The sand-cat swished its tail and purred once.

"Yeah, I'm with you. I don't think he's that oblivious," agreed Sakura, "A little awkward, and more than a little possessive, perhaps."

The sand-cat bumped its head against the underside of her chin softly.

Sakura giggled before smoothing out the cat's forehead to plant a kiss on it, "I know – it's nice just to be loved and give love in return. Goodnight, Mr. Fluffy-kins."

The sand-cat purred in agreement, and tucked itself against Sakura's neck.

* * *

><p>With all that happened last night, it had completely slipped Sakura's mind to ask Gaara for a transfer to the frontlines. She quickly dressed for the morning, determined to find Gaara and make her request known when a folded piece of paper on Gaara's otherwise empty desk caught her eye.<p>

Her name was written on it, so it must be meant for her.

Uncertain as to why Gaara decided to leave her a note instead of speaking to her directly, she picked it up and began to read.

The answer became clear at once.

"Haruno-san,

Per my discussions with Hokage-sama the previous night, we have agreed that a further investigation on how the White Zetsu clones were able to use our forces' chakra was much needed. Nara Shikaku-san and several other experienced tacticians are still trying to find a way to identify the enemy clones.

You are henceforth assigned to work with Shizune-san to perform an autopsy on the clone you defeated last night in the medic base. Any results gleaned from it will be of great help.

The Fifth Kazekage."

Sakura was filled with the childish urge to scream and throw a tantrum about how she was being kept from the battlefields yet again. Her friends and comrades were out there, fighting and _dying_, and here she was being confined to work in the medic base once more.

She forced herself to calm down and analyse the situation from Gaara's point of view. He was correct to assign her – a senior medic from Konoha hospital – to assist Shizune nee-san in performing the autopsy. Additionally, she had worked hand-in-glove with Shizune on many a surgery, and trained under Shizune as well whenever Tsunade was indisposed by one too many bottles of sake. With the war tacticians having yet to come up with any answers, an autopsy was the obvious next step to take.

Sakura sighed; it was not what she wanted, but it was for the greater good. And the greater good always triumphed over personal desires.

However, Gaara could have told her himself at the very least!

And speaking of the devil.

Gaara flared his chakra once before entering the tent. He quickly looked her over from head to toe.

"Sakura, you're attired for frontline duties. Shouldn't you be in medic corps dress code instead?"

Trust Gaara to speak of the matter as if it was a foregone conclusion.

"Gaara, you have always known about my feelings towards being left behind in the battles. I want to fight by my friends' side, not sit and wait for them to be brought to me all maimed and suffering," Sakura knew there was a slight whine in her tone, but she did not feel particularly motivated to suppress it right now.

Gaara frowned at her, "Sakura, the best tacticians in the Five Shinobi Nations have been working through the night, and they have nothing new to report. What you are doing now will contribute far more to our cause than if I were to send you off to the frontlines to heal the injured one by one."

Sakura let out a particularly drawn-out sigh of frustration. Gaara was right, and they both knew it.

She started for the tent flap.

"Sakura."

"I have a change of attire at the medic base, Gaara."

"Then allow me to escort you," he offered.

"Wait, wh…"

By the time Sakura finished turning around to face Gaara, she found herself right inside the newly set-up autopsy tent. Shizune's eyes practically bugged out in surprise at the duo's unannounced appearance.

"Sakura! Kazekage-sama!" Shizune quickly regained her composure, "Can you please go through the normal clearance procedures before appearing in the medic base? You're breaking all our protocols; especially since you had a hand in creating them, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara tilted his head slightly in a bow, startling Shizune. Gaara might be only half her age, but he was infinitely higher-ranking than her in the shinobi world – she should be the one doing the bowing.

"I apologise, Shizune-san, but I wanted to make sure that Sakura wouldn't go sneaking off to the frontlines."

Sakura replied sullenly, "Kazekage-sama, you should know I am good at keeping my word."

"Really," he remarked, looking unimpressed.

Then Gaara did another thing that Shizune did not expect.

He deliberately took Sakura's hand and pressed a lingering kiss to the back of it, his eyes never leaving Sakura's.

Sakura thought her cheeks must have caught on fire, heated as they were.

When Gaara finally straightened, he gave Sakura's hand a squeeze and whispered, "Stay safe."

And he was gone in a swirl of sand.

Sakura was the first to recover from the experience.

"I knew it! I _knew_it!" Sakura shouted accusingly at the spot where Gaara was a second ago – Gaara was trying to keep her from the frontlines to protect her.

And after he had assigned her to the squad with the highest wartime mortality rate – the Ambush Squad – no less. She had proven herself a fighter and survivor countless times already!

Male protective instincts and his position as her superior be damned: she was going to give him a earful tonight.

Shizune, in the meantime, had inconspicuously glanced around the tent to make sure that none of the chemicals lying around were known hallucinogens. When she was certain that she had witness was not a figment of her imagination, she cleared her throat to get Sakura's attention.

"Sakura, is there anything you want to talk to me about? Anything at all?"

_You too, Shizune nee-san?_


	22. Chapter 22

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

Some writers like to hear readers' suggestions, and I am one of them. However, dictating the exact plotlines and events you want to read, especially when they are severely OOC, really irks me.

Tip: If there is something you really want to read, WRITE IT YOURSELF.

I am not even going to dignify the offer to 'help' me write a lemon scene with a response.

* * *

><p>"Uzumaki Naruto-san has escaped our protection with the help of Killer Bee-san, Kazekage-sama."<p>

The Intelligence Division shinobi was inwardly surprised that Gaara was taking the report so well. Concealment of the final two jinchuurikis had always been the focal point of their efforts, the main reason why they were at war, and Gaara was still wearing his poker face.

What the shinobi did not know was that Gaara had been expecting such an event, and was in fact pondering why it took so long for Naruto to finally grow suspicious of his 'training' with Killer Bee.

It had been a grand total of three days since Sakura and Shizune began their autopsy, and also three days that Sakura spent alternating between blushing and ignoring him completely. She reported that they had exhausted exploring the White Zetsu's corpse with chakra, and have started analysing tissue samples instead in hope of uncovering something new. That summed up all the verbal reports she gave to him – everything else she had submitted in writing to the war council.

He had no reason to rebuke Sakura – she had continued to perform her duties as a kunoichi to her fullest capacity; she brewed him the chakra tea every night, discussed the progress of the war with him whenever he brought up the topic, and went about her duties as a base medic.

Gaara missed their bantering, though.

There was a war at hand, however, that required his attention.

Even under the brilliant guidance of Nara Shikaku, the tacticians have been unable to come up with a way of identifying the clones from their own. To minimise losses in the current situation, Gaara had ordered a retreat back to the borders for all Divisions – by minimising the chances of enemy confrontation, the clones would not be able to sneak in amongst them so easily without the cover of battlefield pandemonium to mask their infiltration.

"What does the war council have to say about this?" Gaara asked.

"Raikage-sama and Hokage-sama have left the command centre to intercept Naruto-san and Bee-san. They have handed over the supervision of the war to Nara Shikaku-san for the time being."

Gaara's brows knitted in mild annoyance; Shikaku had enough on his hands already, and the hot-tempered Raikage with his tendency to hit first, talk later meant that a confrontation with the two jinchuurikis would not be pretty. He had hoped that the Hokage's presence would encourage the Raikage to think before acting, but clearly it was not the case.

"You are dismissed," said Gaara, "However, I wish to speak to Nara Shikamaru-san."

"I will bring him to you at once, Kazekage-sama," replied the shinobi with a salute.

* * *

><p>Shikamaru was not one to go courting trouble, but trouble seemed to dog his every move anyway.<p>

Gaara had been adopting a slightly cooler demeanor towards him ever since the day they talked about Sakura and Gaara's relationship. Shikamaru was sure that he had not revealed his past dating history with Sakura to anyone at all. In fact, it remained one of Konohagakure's Best Kept Secrets to date.

The Fifth Kazekage, though, has proven to be an unusually perceptive male; there was no telling if Gaara had arrived at that conclusion on his own.

Shikamaru's mind had been working overtime ever since he was summoned to Gaara's tent. He had absolutely no idea why he was being called for, and was silently praying that Sakura did not accidentally reveal their history.

Somehow, the image of Gaara passionlessly crushing him in his Sand Coffin and then having him declared Killed In Action came too vividly to his mind for Shikamaru's comfort.

Okay, maybe he did go intentionally went looking for trouble when he decided to address his concern for Sakura's feelings to Gaara. Why, oh why did he ever agree to Sakura's suggestion to watch out for each other on the romance front to avoid a repeat of their own relationship's end?

_Because it was a goo__d __idea_ _at that time; also, I a__m__ a __total_ _bitch for Sakura's beseeching look. _

With that last depressing thought, Shikamaru arrived outside the Regimental Leader's tent and flared his chakra.

"Come in, Nara-san."

Shikamaru squared his shoulders and lifted the tent flap, glancing about to locate Gaara. Unsurprisingly, Gaara was at the table, arms folded across his chest.

What was surprising was how troubled Gaara had looked for a moment, before his usual passiveness slipped back over his face.

Shikamaru decided that living longer was more important than making any observations about the Kazekage's person aloud, so he wisely kept his mouth shut.

Shikamaru moved to stand in front of Gaara, his arms crossed behind his back. "You wished to see me, Kazekage-sama?"

"Nara-san, give me your analysis of our current situation."

That was a far cry from what Shikamaru had expected to be called in for. He understood now that he was being summoned in his capacity as Gaara's second-in-charge and field tactician, and secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

"The White Zetsu clones have forced us to make a tactical retreat in the past few days, and they continue to chip away at our forces' morale through constant night assassinations. Unless my father or the medic corps manages to find a way of identifying these clones or their weaknesses soon, we may have to resort to a straight push into Madara's base. However, we do not have sufficient intelligence from either the scouting parties or the Ambush Squad to make a clean attack. Our losses will be immense, with easily eighty percent or more of our forces being eliminated in the process. But it will be better than playing sitting ducks in the long term."

Gaara was silent, going over through Shikamaru's assessment in his head. He had considered a bold assault on the Akatsuki base as well, but there were simply too many unknown factors that could turn the venture into a complete slaughter of their forces. He was both relieved and dismayed to have his suspicions confirmed by Shikamaru.

"Nara-san, how would you feel if I sent you to the war council to assist Shikaku-san and his team of tacticians?"

Shikamaru blinked, "Kazekage-sama, as the Regimental Leader, you are free to re-assign me without consulting me at all."

Gaara shook his head, "I will not move personnel about unless I know they can be of greater value elsewhere."

"With all due respect, Kazekage-sama, Shikaku-san is my father, and a far wiser man than I can hope to be. I do not see how my addition to his team will be of any help, and I certainly do not want anyone to cast doubts on his abilities as the head tactician."

Shikamaru had scowled briefly, and Gaara could see how much the young man respected his father in that instant.

What a far cry it was from his own experience with his father.

"Before I forget, Nara-san," the way Gaara spoke made it sound as if his following words were anything but incidental, "Naruto has escaped and is apparently on his way to join the war."

Shikamaru smirked and shook his head, muttering, "It's about time he caught on."

"Do you think his presence at the frontlines will be an asset or a disadvantage to us?"

"It would be catastrophic if the enemy were to capture Naruto and Bee-san," said Shikamaru, "However, from what I've learnt, Naruto has pretty much perfected his Nine-Tails Mode. Combined with Killer Bee-san's formidable strength as a jinchuuriki, they would be able to do serious damage to the enemy forces."

"My sentiments exactly," Gaara rose from his seat, "Although, their escape may be for naught, as the Raikage and Hokage have left the war council to stop them."

Shikamaru flinched – he had met the Raikage only once, but he already noticed how the man had a hair-trigger propensity for violence.

Naruto's Nine-Tails Mode had better be really powerful.

* * *

><p>Shizune had insisted on mandatory breaks while performing their autopsy on the White Zetsu corpse. The time spent away would let them recharge and also let them look at the seemingly unsolvable problem with fresh eyes.<p>

That was why Sakura was currently moving from tent to tent, checking on the patients and performing an unauthorised healing or two when she was absolutely certain that Shizune was not anywhere nearby.

The next tent held a small surprise for her.

"Neji-san!" she exclaimed, then almost immediately narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "It really is you, isn't it?"

On the same night that the White Zetsu clone infiltrated the medic base under the guise of Neji, Sakura sent word out to the 5th Division where Neji was assigned to find out if he was alright. A messenger came and reported that Neji was alive and well just before she left for Gaara's tent, which helped to calm her frazzled nerves. It was at least good news that the clones did not have to kill the original chakra bearer to possess their forms.

The enemy might be trying to sneak in under the guise of the Hyuuga male again; they might have been expecting her to drop her guard down around Neji now that his previous clone had been eliminated, and there was no telling how many times they would be able to reuse Neji's chakra signature.

"Sakura?" Neji turned his head to face her, and she was surprised by how tired he looked. He had started to show signs of developing panda eyes, which was an inappropriately amusing sight to Sakura.

"Neji-san, who brought you in?" she asked while retrieving his patient's records, one eye trained on him for any sudden movements.

"Kiba did," he gave Sakura a strange look, and correctly deduced what she was thinking. "This is about the Zetsu clone that attacked you while pretending to be me, isn't it?"

"Well, if you can prove to me that you really are Neji-san…" Sakura left the sentence hanging.

Neji sighed softly and began, "Exactly twelve days after we returned from Tetsu no Kuni, after spending days and nights cooped up in the laboratory, you found out that the plant was no more than a garden-variety flowering shrub."

"I kind of screamed in frustration over that, Neji-san; I think they heard me over in Kirigakure, so you're going to need to do better than that," Sakura coloured at the memory of her very unlady-like behaviour.

"Alright. Despite the setback, you went ahead and kept the plant anyway. As of last summer, you have exactly fourteen pots of it on your balcony."

Sakura blinked.

"Neji-san, I live on the eighth floor. How can you tell how many pots are there without actually being there physically to count them?" She started to wonder if the real Neji balcony-surfed like it was an every day occurrence.

"I was trying to locate the source of my… allergies."

It would explain why when she invited the Konoha Eleven to her apartment for a little get-together, Neji had made an excuse that he had training to do and left. Even though it was close to eleven at night.

"Ok, Neji-san, you're the real deal," she finally broke into a smile, and Neji gave her one of his trademark smirks in return, "So, how did Kiba managed to convince you to seek medical attention?"

"I was bodily hauled here by Akamaru, to be precise."

Sakura could not quite erase the image of Akamaru dragging Neji along like a chew-toy towards the medic base.

"How is your work here at the medic base?" asked Neji conversationally; he was bored out of his skull while being confined to mandatory bed rest – his vocal cords were pretty much the only part of his body left that he could use without getting a telling-off from another medic.

Sakura heaved a tired-sounding sigh, "Not very well, I'm afraid. We're still trying to find out how to identify these enemy clones without having to submit our entire army to interrogations."

"Sakura," began Neji, "I'm not certain if this will be helpful, but when Akamaru was in his Kiba-clone form, he was also grabbed by a White Zetsu. However, the White Zetsu released him almost immediately and went for another shinobi instead."

Sakura released the breath that she didn't even know she had been holding, prompting Neji to shoot her a quizzical look.

"Neji-san, I think you just gave me the breakthrough we need."

* * *

><p>"Shizune nee-san!" Sakura came bursting into the brunette's tent where Shizune was trying to enjoy a cup of coffee. Emphasis on 'trying'.<p>

"Sakura? What is it? Is there something wrong?"

Sakura could barely contain her excitement, and she forced herself to take a calming breath before she started jumbling up her words. This was something important, and she had to convey that to Shizune.

"I just spoke to Hyuuga Neji-san…"

"Ah, another stubborn Hyuuga male – he's not the first one to be brought in for overworking themselves by riding nighthawk almost every day," Shizune made a tsk-ing sound.

"Yes, but listen to this – one of the White Zetsu clones grabbed a nin-dog, but rejected it almost immediately and went for a human target."

Initially, Shizune could not see the fuss over the matter. Yet Sakura looked so earnest that she knew this young woman must have stumbled on some obscure truth.

"I mean, wouldn't it have been even better to adopt the form of animal allies to sneak among our forces? Who is going to notice if a nin-dog is acting strange except for its owner? It certainly is better than going around disguised as a human shinobi whose cover can easily be blown by his friends and comrades," Sakura had a strange gleam in her eyes, "What if – and I'm just speculating – but what if it is an incompatibility issue? If the issue is not with the chakra, then it must be…"

"In the DNA," both women chorused.

Shizune nodded, a giddy smile starting to form on her lips, "It makes sense – some shinobis can borrow animal chakra to conceal themselves, so it's unlikely that the clones cannot do it, seeing how skilled they are at manipulating chakra. However, human and animal DNA, while not very different, varies where it counts."

"Come on, Shizune nee-san. What are we waiting for?" Sakura was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet now.

"Lead the way," replied Shizune, grabbing her flak jacket off the back of the chair as she rose.

Sakura walked ahead, her stride now more confident than ever before.

* * *

><p>"Begging your pardon, Kazekage-sama, Nara-sama. Tsuchikage-sama is here," announced Baki as he pushed aside the tent flap discreetly.<p>

Both men had been perusing the latest intelligence reports for several hours already when the news came, and Shikamaru rose from his seat at once, awaiting the entrance of Oonoki. The Third Tsuchikage was his senior in every sense of the word, and it was only respectful to greet him whilst standing.

Oonoki lifted the tent flap and entered, his eyes quickly scanning the tent's interior. He titled his head towards both men in greeting.

"Good evening, Tsuchikage-sama," Shikamaru bowed at his waist.

The old man gave Shikamaru the once-over, and ventured, "You must be Shikaku's son, aren't you? The resemblance is uncanny."

"Shikaku-san is indeed my father, Tsuchikage-sama."

"Tsuchikage-sama," said Gaara, "I've heard about Naruto and Killer Bee's escape, and that Raikage-sama and Hokage-sama have left in pursuit of them. Do you have any updates on the situation?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. I was just about to leave the war council when they returned. Apparently, the Raikage had a change of heart and decided to let them go," then he added, "The Kyuubi jinchuuriki can be very persuasive. Actually, he seemed too eager to get involved in the war, if you ask me."

Gaara found feel the corner of his lips quirking upwards – of course Naruto would find a way to convince even the most stubborn of men to see things from his perspective.

"Also, that kunoichi of yours is quite something; her work at the medic bas…"

The Tsuchikage did not finish his sentence when the sand-cat suddenly jumped off Sakura's bed and padded to the tent flap, purring loudly. A few heartbeats later, a familiar chakra signature flared from outside the tent.

"Enter," said Gaara passively.

"Kazekage-sama, Tsuchikage-sama," Sakura bowed to both men, and gave Shikamaru a little wave of her hand which he returned almost grudgingly, "We have discovered something about the White Zetsu clones."

Gaara took note of the pink flush on her cheeks and the way she was slightly breathless, possibly having ran all the way from the medic base once her job there could be proclaimed as completed.

Sakura was beautiful when she was so radiant.

He was glad to finally see a smile on Sakura's face after what seemed like an eternity, but at the same time, he knew that there were two reasons for her happiness; one of which he did not share her sentiments.

"The White Zetsu clones are using Yamato-taichou's Wood Release bloodline limit technique to create themselves, which would explain why there are so many of them and their seemingly endless numbers."

"The wood element, eh?" Oonoki said, "That's a bloodline limit technique, isn't it?"

Shikamaru rubbed at his chin and tiled his head backwards, searching his memories for a conversation he had with Asuma after Naruto's visit to ask about the wind element.

"If I'm not mistaken, the wood element is based on the combination of the earth and water elements. Earth is weakest against lightning, and water against earth" noted Shikamaru, "We should assign at least one lightning element-based shinobi to each four-man team at once. This is a tactical advantage that we ought to fully exploit."

Shikamaru pulled out a small scroll from his pouch and started writing on it. As Gaara's second, he still had to abide by certain protocols, which included having the Regimental Leader stamp and approve his strategies before they can actually be employed.

He was not a fan of red-tape, but it gave some semblance of order to these chaotic times.

"Shikamaru, do you realise what this means?" Sakura turned her smile towards him.

The Nara prodigy's pen stilled; he could feel the daggers that Gaara was glaring at him. Actually, no – they felt more like spears. Huge, pointy spears.

"Well," drawled Shikamaru, "Obviously, you are not excited over the prospects of an army that can literally grow themselves, so it must be about Yamato-san."

"The clones' DNA has changed to resemble Yamato-taichou and the First Hokage's even more than during the Kage Summit. So that means that they are keeping Yamato-taichou alive!" Sakura grinned, then promptly scrunched her eyebrows, "Oh, wait – that's not exactly good news, is it? If the enemy is sucking the life force out of your captain, I mean."

"Sakura, focus on the fact that he is alive – that's the important thing," Shikamaru tilted his head from side-to-side in an attempt to dislodge the metaphorical spears stuck in his neck, "It is strange, though, that a shinobi as experienced as Yamato-san has not chosen to end his life when he was captured, to prevent by the enemy from gathering any information."

Sakura scowled, "I _am_ trying to focus on the good part, Shikamaru. This is a war, and I will take whatever good news I can."

Sakura then turned to look at Gaara expectantly. This was the part that he had been dreading for days.

"Haruno-san," Gaara prevented himself from sighing out loud, "I know you want to be put on the frontlines now that you've finished your autopsy assignment. However, as you already know, we are currently at a stalemate with the enemy forces. There is little you can do on the field right now, so I think it is best if you continue working on the medic base."

Oonoki suddenly smacked his fist into his open palm, as if recalling something; that action alone effectively prevented Sakura from protesting Gaara's decision.

"That may no longer be the case, Kazekage," he began.

Gaara felt his blood run cold and unconsciously stiffened in his seat at Oonoki's next words.

"The resurrected Kages are on the move."


	23. Chapter 23

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

Sadly, Gaara's fight with his father has been very difficult to write, so I'm still doing fillers. Also, Kishimoto-sensei is currently focusing the story arc on Naruto, so be prepared for a lot of embellishments!

* * *

><p>The four current Kages and their seconds were all gathered around a large map that was enlarged to focus on the north-eastern quadrant – the centre stage for the war. Red and blue place markers have been stuck onto the map to show known enemy deployments and the shinobi army respectively. There were four distinct red place markers placed in front of the 4th Division's camp – one for each resurrected Kage.<p>

The last thing Gaara wanted to do was to attend a war council meeting at such a critical time, but he knew he had to; it would have been difficult enough engaging one Kage in battle, but to have four of them headed straight for his Division from four different directions…

He needed all the advantages he could get.

The resurrected Kages had retreated far into enemy territory soon after the first clashes, just out of range of Gaara's Third Eye. It was generally agreed that these were strong adversaries and several scouting teams had been sent to find out more about the resurrected Kages and the reason for their seeming withdrawal.

None of them have returned.

It was therefore strange that Kabuto decided to announce their intentions ahead of time by advancing the four Kages each with a sizable White Zetsu clones army so visible that all it took was a nameless shinobi watching the enemy borders to notice them and send a report back immediately.

He was now dead, of course.

With the exception of the Mizukage, Mei, the four current Kages were all at the war council. Mei was busy guarding the lives of the daimyos of the Five Shinobi Nations – men of great influence and power that even a Kage had to respect. Intelligence reports pointed at the possibly of Madara capturing these men to ransom them for the Hachibi and Kyuubi, so preventive measures were taken right from the start. However, even with Naruto and Killer Bee now on the loose and practically throwing themselves at the enemy, she still had to ensure the safety of their leaders; just in case Madara or Kabuto decided to go for a double-hit.

"Kazekage," greeted Tsunade, "We were just about to send word about the White Zetsu clones and how they can be identified."

She then gestured to Shikaku to continue. The solemn-looking man stood up from his papers-strewn table and addressed the room.

"Honourable Kages, I don't know if it is sheer luck or Fate at work here, but it turns out that Naruto in his Nine-Tails Mode can sense negative emotions. He was able to locate the hidden Akatsuki member Hoshigaki Kisame who was hiding in a sword that Killer Bee-san carried; something which even the Eight-Tails cannot sense. Now that Raikage-sama and Hokage-sama have allowed him and Killer Bee-san to join the battle, it is just a matter of asking Naruto to make shadow clones of himself and placing him all at points of conflict. He will be able to tell which one of our shinobis are actually Zetsu in disguise, and this should allow us to focus our attention on the approaching enemies."

"Where is Naruto headed, exactly?" asked Gaara, casting a sideways glance at Sakura. She had her hands tightly clasped together, no doubt in worry for her teammate.

"He's headed straight for the source of this war – Uchiha Madara," the oddly silent Raikage finally spoke up, "Killer Bee is with him."

"Is it wise to let him go, Tsunade-shishou?"

Tsunade noted the anxiety etched on Sakura's face and smiled kindly, "Sakura, he's so stubborn and so determined, I think he would have killed Raikage-sama to reach his goal."

Well, that would explain why the Raikage was looking more moody than usual.

"Four resurrected Kages," Oonoki brought everyone's attention back to the reason why they were gathered here in the first place, "And each one of them is either a mentor or a blood relative."

"It is obvious that the enemy is trying to shake our fighting resolves by having us battle to the death with those we respect. They are counting on us to show just the slightest moment of weakness to strike us down – psychological warfare at its finest," began Shikamaru

"We can avoid this situation by having each Kage engage an unrelated enemy Kage, but we will lose the advantage of knowing the deceased Kages' fighting styles and techniques. Our best chance therefore is to have each Kage fight their mentor. We will need to call for reinforcements to tackle the Zetsu armies in order to let our Kages battle uninterrupted. Currently, the 4th Division is too few in numbers to fight against an estimated Zetsu army that is 40,000 strong.

"The Kages who were chosen by Kabuto are anything but random. Kabuto specifically resurrected one Kage from each of the Five Shinobi Nations with the exception of a Hokage, all of whose souls are out of his reach. He obviously wants to draw all the Kages out onto the battlefield, including Mizukage-sama who is currently protecting the daimyos. To what ends, though, it remains an unknown."

Silence reigned in the war room, and Shikamaru realised how quiet everyone had become only a few moments later.

He quickly bowed and apologised, "Forgive me, Honourable Kages. I have spoken out of turn."

"No, boy – you have spoken well," said the Raikage, "The enemy wants us to falter in the face of falsehood. The Raikage out there may wear my father's skin and walk with his stolen soul, but underneath it is nothing more than some foolish meat puppet. If we can walk into the fight remembering that, then so much for Akatsuki's foul strategy."

It was easier said than done, and everyone knew it.

"How much longer before they arrive within striking range?" Tsunade asked.

Inoichi, who was still connected to the telepathic communications network, spoke up, "Field reports suggest that despite how the enemy forces are coming in from different directions, they will all arrive within striking distance at approximately high noon in fourteen hours' time."

High noon – the hottest and more unbearable part of the day in the desert. The resurrected Kages would brush off the scorching sun, but the same cannot be said for their living counterparts.

"Kabuto is throwing everything at us, hoping to crush at least one Division, it seems. My main worry here is that he is trying to divert our attention, or at least weaken our other three Divisions by expecting us to call for backup for the targeted 4th Division," said Shikaku.

Gaara finally spoke up, "The 4th Division will not ask for reinforcements."

"Kazekage-sama?" asked Shikaku, not quite believing his ears.

Gaara walked over to the map and pointed at his Division's place marker, "My Division remains the only one with a low assassination rate because we have not confronted the White Zetsu clones for extended periods. If we were to bring in reinforcements, there will be no telling how many of those clones will be masquerading as our forces and taking advantage of the situation to fully infiltrate all our Divisions. We cannot take that risk."

"But Naruto…" started Tsunade.

"When Naruto arrives, the fighting would already be underway. How many shadow clones can he possibly send to pick out our enemies while fighting at the same time?" Gaara said it more as a statement than anything else, "I will be glad to have Naruto fighting with us, but not at the risk of draining his chakra to nothing."

Sakura sighed; Gaara was right – Naruto would probably over-exert himself trying to help as many of their men as possible. If they were to task him with the job of identifying the Zetsu clones on top of that, Naruto would simply give them a winsome grin and poof up a few hundred more shadow clones with no regards for himself.

Naruto was a brave, selfless idiot. But an idiot nonetheless.

"Tsuchikage-sama, can I count on you to help me defend our borders?" asked Gaara.

Oonoki snorted and replied, "Even if you did not ask me to, Kazekage-sama, I had plans to assist the 4th Division. I would like to send my greetings to my former teacher."

Gaara nodded, then turned to address the Raikage, A, "Raikage-sama, can you give us any information on how to counter the Third Raikage's attacks as well as what we should expect from him?"

A did not appear pleased that he was being confined to the war room for now, but he went ahead and gave both Gaara and Oonoki as much information as he could about his own father.

"Sakura," said Tsunade, observing that the other Kages were otherwise occupied, "Can I speak with you?"

"Of course, shishou."

She was so caught up in the tense atmosphere of the war room, and her nerve endings abuzz in anticipation of the battle ahead, that Sakura had completely forgotten to question why Tsunade would want to speak with her at that moment.

Thus, her mental defenses were soundly crushed when Tsunade asked, "Is there something going on between you and Gaara?"

It took Sakura several deep breaths before she finally convinced herself to not go into hysterics. Leveling her gaze at Tsunade's, she replied, "We are just good friends, shishou."

Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest and gave Sakura a skeptical look, "Is that what the kids are calling it these days – 'good friends'? Gaara used those exact same words when we last talked."

"We are at war with Akatsuki, Tsunade-shishou. I can tell you honestly that I do not have the time to pursue a relationship right now."

"According to Shizune, the Kazekage doesn't seem to share your sentiments, what with him calling you by your given name and then the kiss itself…" there was now a smirk etched on Tsunade's lips.

Sakura could not help but blush at the memory of Gaara kissing her hand while gazing at her so intensely, and right in front of Shizune no less.

"It was a gentlemanly gesture, and Shizune nee-san knew it!" Sakura was a step away from burying her face in her hands in mortification.

"Just give me a straight answer, Sakura – do you like him?"

Sakura didn't trust herself to speak; she nodded minutely instead.

"You really like him, more than just a friend," concluded Tsunade, "And this is not an infatuation?"

"Shishou, Sasuke was an infatuation. And in the years since he deflected from our village, I've been on enough dates to know the difference between a passing feeling and something stronger," a tiny part of Sakura was wondering why in the world she was having this conversation with the highest-ranking shinobi of Konohagakure.

"And it's not some bad-boy phase that you're going through, you are certain?"

Sakura blinked. Twice. "Wait, what?"

"Gaara has the looks for the part," Tsunade then pointed at her own forehead, "And the tattoo. I know a lot of girls who would be smitten by that combination."

Sakura did not know whether to laugh or to cry; their entire conversation was starting to sound like something out of a bad daytime soap.

"Shishou," Sakura hissed through clenched teeth, "I'm not into 'bad boys', and I am not shallow enough to go into a relationship with someone just based on their looks."

"Sakura," Tsunade's voice became softer and kinder, "I want you to know that Shizune brought this up to me out of concern for you and Konoha. Being romantically involved with a political figure, especially one of Gaara's station, has huge ramifications on the entire shinobi world. If it comes to the point of a political marriage, you are effectively creating an unbreakable bond between two Shinobi Nations. And if you mess it up, well…"

"Shishou, please," Sakura was sure that her face must be as red as a tomato, "We are _not_having this conversation. I like Gaara; Gaara likes me. End of story. No time for movies or dates, and definitely no time to consider anything close to matrimony. We have a war to focus on right now."

"That's my point, Sakura. We do not always make the best decisions in the face of death, and when confronted with loneliness, we can…"

"Oh, stars!" shrieked Sakura, and promptly slapped both hands to her burning ears, "I promise I will be careful, both when I'm fighting and… when I am not fighting. Now can we _please_ stop talking about my love life?"

Tsunade smirked once more, and said to no one in particular, "She calls it her 'love life', and yet refers to him as a 'good friend'. Such paradox; Katsuyu, you will help me keep an eye on Sakura, won't you?"

The slug summon poked its head out Sakura's collar and squelched in agreement, puffing itself up a little.

"Sakura," said Katsuyu, "If the Kazekage tries to make any moves on you, I shall not hesitate to defend you."

Sakura had a hard time deciding which was worse: when everyone just assumed that Gaara and she were doing the dirty, or now that everyone was treating it as a foregone conclusion.

Maybe she should hunt down Kabuto and Uchiha Madara herself, and put an end to this war and have all the shinobis go back to gossiping about their own people instead.

The two women (and their slug summon) were so caught up in their conversation that they failed to notice how the other three Kages had stopped to observe them for a while.

A was the first to speak up – "Kazekage, I certainly hope your personal medic will not become a distraction in the ensuing battles."

Gaara's gaze hardened as he replied, "Haruno-san is an exceptional kunoichi whom I can trust to defend herself. She will not be a liability to me."

"Kazekage, I don't think that was what the Raikage meant," Oonoki shared a knowing look with A.

It took Gaara a moment to process what both men were implying, and when he finally understood, he had to fight the urge to raise his voice at his elders.

"Raikage-sama, Tsuchikage-sama – Haruno-san is Hokage-sama's apprentice. Let us not speak of her like this again."

Okay, maybe he did not raise his voice, but he certainly lowered it enough to get his point across.

Oonoki raised an eyebrow at Gaara, and said, "Kazekage, your personal life is of your own concern. But if it starts to affect your capacity to function as the Regimental Leader, we can and will step in. She is a beautiful kunoichi; why, if I were eighty years younger, I wo…"

Oonoki was cut off by a sound that Gaara made at the back of his throat that left all three men staring at each other. Without another word, the Kazekage turned on his heels and swept towards Sakura.

"The insolence of youth..!" A scoffed.

Oonoki was still staring at Gaara's retreating form.

When the old Tsuchikage finally found his voice, he pointed a finger in Gaara's direction and asked A, "Did the Kazekage just… growl at me?"

"I believe he did."

Gaara walked up to Tsunade and Sakura and gave the former a nod of greeting before giving his full attention to Sakura, "We should return to the camp, Haruno-san. I require you to go over the deployment plans with me."

Tsunade cocked at eyebrow at Gaara, "Kazekage, do you often discuss such matters with your personal medic?"

"Haruno-san possesses a mind as sharp as Nara-san's, Hokage-sama. It will be a shame to have her fulfilling the role of a medic-nin only."

Sakura blushed at the compliment, causing Tsunade to mistake the reason for the colouring on her cheeks. With a grin, she asked Gaara, "Well, aren't you going to call her 'Sakura' in front of me?"

"Not when there are so many listening ears around, Hokage-sama. I trusted Shizune-san to not gossip, and it appears she only told you – an action that I can agree with. Haruno-san is her fellow apprentice after all, and she was simply exhibiting due concern."

Tsunade nodded exaggeratedly, saying, "Of course, of course. It is only in privacy that you may call each other by your given names, Gaa-ra-kun."

Gaara looked a little queasy at being addressed so intimately by a woman old enough to be his grandmother, and Sakura was silently attempting to beat herself unconscious in the meantime.

"Shishou, we'd love to stay and chat, but I need to get the Kazekage back to bed… I mean, make sure he gets enough sleep before the battle tomorrow," Sakura blurted out, then she turned to Gaara and stage-whispered, "Can we _please_ go now before my personal life takes centre stage in the war council room?"

After the farewells were (rapidly) said and Gaara had left with Sakura, Tsunade allowed her posture to ease a little, worry written on her face. Both Gaara and her apprentice were mature for their age due to their lives as shinobis, but love was one department that they were both sorely lacking experience in.

The only thing she could do now was to hope for the best; that, and to pray that Sakura wouldn't accidentally start the Fifth Shinobi World War by breaking Gaara's heart or vice-versa.

Tsunade would go to _war_ if someone dared to hurt Sakura like Sasuke once did.

"Son of a…! He left us behind!" Oonoki suddenly yelled out, drawing Tsunade's attention to him and a bewildered-looking Shikamaru.

Muttering a few more colourful curses, Oonoki finally calmed down enough to assess the situation. "It's alright – I can fly back to the camp, and when I get there, I'm going to… what?"

Tsunade and A were deliberately avoiding looking at Oonoki, and that only irritated the old man even more.

"Alright, fine," sighed Oonoki, "I'm going to 'levitate' back to the camp. You youngsters have a lot of nerve, thinking that the sight of an old geezer like me flying is something weird."

Tsunade coughed discreetly into her sleeve.

"You there – Shikaku's son," gestured Oonoki, "Come on – I'll carry you back; save you the trip of walking back to the 4th Division all by yourself."

Shikamaru started to hold up his hands in horror, and his father quickly took a few steps forward.

"Tschikage-sama, my son can walk back. We don't want to trouble you," Shikaku looked about as aghast as Shikamaru did.

"My father is right, Tsuchikage-sama. I don't wish to impose on my elders in such a manner," added Shikamaru.

"Nonsense," snorted Oonoki, "Imposing would be if you asked for a lift directly. I'm now offering you one. Hurry up, boy – I'm already one foot in the grave; I don't have time to dawdle."

Bad enough to have the Tsuchikage offer him a lift literally; now Shikamaru was guilty of wasting his time as well. He fought back the urge to sigh aloud – it would be rude to do that in front of all the Kages.

Inching forward like a kicked puppy, Shikamaru dragged his feet towards Oonoki and obediently held out both arms at a ninety-degree angle from his sides. Oonoki floated about a metre and a half into the air before he grasped Shikamaru by his upper arms and slowly, oh so very slowly, they drifted their way out of the war room and into the starry night skies.

Shikamaru thought to himself about how terribly romantic this situation would be, if the person carrying him was not a hundred years-old, grumpy man who was probably a little too complimentary about a shinobi's beauty, especially when she was young enough to be his great grand-daughter.

_Sasuke must have loads of experience in this department. First Orochimaru, and now Uchiha Madara – that guy is an old geezer magnet_, mused Shikamaru.

Shikamaru tried to distract himself by counting stars so that he did not have to focus on the Tsuchikage's clammy grip on his arms.

He counted exactly forty-three stars before Oonoki's spine gave an ominous "snap".


	24. Chapter 24

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

So... long reviews, please?

Also, I am extremely disappointed that people think it is easy to keep to a weekly schedule, and even demand for longer chapters. I do this out of love for the characters, and practically beat my brains out each week trying to come up with each new chapter, and it doesn't seem appreciated at all.

From this chapter onwards, I will update at my own pleasure.

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><p>It was sometime around three in the morning, according to Sakura's internal body clock.<p>

And Gaara was missing from his bed.

It was not a good sign, given the fact that they were less than nine hours away from engaging four of the most powerful shinobis ever to walk the Earth; Gaara should be getting all the rest he could to ensure that he would be in his best fighting condition.

Or perhaps the problem was that he could not get any rest – Gaara had been unusually quiet tonight, even when she tried to engage him in casual conversation. The only time he spoke up was to apologise to the Tsuchikage when Shikamaru piggy-backed the elder into Gaara's tent like a very reluctant pack mule. Fortunately, Oonoki's temper had cooled somewhat after the long trek back to camp, and Gaara did apologise sincerely, so that was the end of that.

Sakura pulled off Gaara's blanketing robes and tugged on her flak jacket, and was about to leave the tent in search of their Regimental Leader when Katsuyu poked her head out of one of the pockets.

"Sakura?" asked the slug.

"Sorry, Katsuyu-sama. I need to go somewhere else right now."

Sakura plucked the slug out of her pocket and placed it next to the sand-cat, and both animals watched her disappear past the tent flap.

Katsuyu turned to the sand-cat and twitched a tentacle; Mr. Fluffy-kins yawned at it and went back to the dozing on the still-warm spot that Sakura just vacated.

* * *

><p>As it turned out, Sakura did not even need to expend much of her chakra to locate Gaara – he was within the camp, his chakra signature emitting from a nearby watchtower. Sakura moved to see around the wooden frame of the tower to better glimpse its occupants; Gaara standing on the temporary wooden watchtower in full battle regalia and apparently talking to the two shinobis on guard duty. She could not make out his facial expression from the distance, but his posture was formal and almost rigid.<p>

Deciding not to interrupt them, Sakura was about to make her retreat when one of the shinobis on the watchtower waved an arm in her direction. She could see Gaara's head turning to follow the action, and even in the dark of the night, his gaze was still clear and bright.

There was a tickling sensation against the back of her hand, and Sakura was startled by it; Gaara had not used his sand to summon her in a while, and the feeling was still foreign to her.

Well, the Regimental Leader was calling her – she had to answer.

Sakura knew that she had to conserve as much of her chakra as possible, so she opted to walk over to the watchtower instead of transporting herself up next to Gaara. While she closed the distance between them, Gaara dismissed his guards and turned to watch Sakura instead.

As the shinobis left the tower, they bowed slightly to Sakura. Sakura returned the bow, and noted that they were actually two kunoichis. She did not know which village they were affiliated to, but one of them muttered something that included the term "Gaara-sama". It was not difficult to place them right away; as if the slight reluctance in their bow had not been a dead-giveaway already.

She climbed the stairs to the top of the watchtower, a reprimand readied on her tongue for Gaara's disregard of his need for rest.

Gaara beat her to the punch, however.

"You should be in bed, Sakura."

"I could say the same for you, Gaara," Sakura wondered if it was alright for them to address each other so casually in public.

He noted the slight trepidation when she uttered his name, and quickly guessed what was on her mind.

"The wall behind us is an excellent barrier – no one can see or hear us so easily."

Sakura glanced backwards and saw the wooden wall and overhanging shelter. It did not look very sturdy to her, but then again, neither did the watchtower. However, other councerns had brought her up here in the first place, and she could not summon up the real urge to analyse her surroundings that closely, so she decided to take Gaara's words at face value.

"Gaara, I'm serious. You need your rest if you want to be in top fighting condition tomorrow," she tried to reason with him once more.

"I did not sleep the entire month during the Chunin Examinations, and I managed just fine."

Sakura tilted her head, askance on her features as she said, "That was because of Shukaku, wasn't it? He gave you the stamina to go for extended periods without rest."

"That," agreed Gaara, "And the fact that I did not want Shukaku to have the chance to take over my body and wreck havoc on another village. Even if the orders to destroy Konohagakure were from whom we assumed to be my father at that point in time, we had a plan that had to be followed. If I lost control before that…"

The rest need not be said.

"But you no longer have Shukaku inside of you."

"True, and tomorrow I will fight the man who ordered him to be sealed within me." There was finality in Gaara's voice, implying to Sakura that he did not want to speak of his father anymore tonight.

Sakura, stubborn as she was, pressed on, "I don't like your plan of you facing your father alone, Gaara."

Soon after Oonoki's return, the Intelligence Division came with information from Mei on the techniques of her predecessor and how they should counter the Second Mizukage's attacks. Together with Shikamaru and Gaara's siblings, they worked out the battle plans for tomorrow.

Oonoki immediately volunteered to fight the Second Tsuchikage, Mu. Shikamaru volunteered to lead a part of the Division against the Second Mizukage, a motion that was seconded by Temari who felt that his analytical mind would be useful in seeing through the Second's infamous genjutsus.

When they arrived at the Fourth Kazekage, an immediately hush had settled in the tent. With only the Sand siblings left, there was no question as to who should have to fight their father; Temari and Kankurou were more often than not on their father's good side. In addition, Temari was of the wind element – the natural counter for the Third Raikage's lightning element. It only made sense for her and Kankurou to take on the Raikage.

"I won't be alone, Sakura. A part of the 4th Division will be behind me, ready to take on the White Zetsu army that accompanies my father."

"That's not the same, and you know it," Sakura raised her voice slightly.

She waited until the silence between them had clung to the air for too long, prompting Gaara to turn to her. He was a little taken aback by the sadness in Sakura's eyes.

"Sakura?" He asked gently, reaching for her hand.

"Let me fight by your side," she whispered. So quietly, that Gaara thought it was the wind blowing by. His hand stilled before it could reach Sakura's, and after a moment's hesitation, he drew his hand back to his side.

"Sakura, you already know that you will be placed among my part of the Division as one of the field medics. Isn't that what you wanted – to be healing the injured on the battlefield?" Gaara avoided looking at her as he spoke.

"You don't have to do this alone, Gaara. You have us, all of us." This time, it was Sakura who reached out to him and placed her hand on his forearm lightly.

Gaara turned to face her, and Sakura was surprised to see how tired he looked in that moment.

"Sakura, I am the best candidate to fight the Fourth Kazekage. I have been trained by him in my later childhood years, and I know his special techniques," said Gaara, then he bluntly stated, "I cannot fight him if I have a distraction by my side."

"Are you implying that I cannot defend myself? Because I can, and I will defend you as well," Sakura's tone grew testy.

"My father and I are both long-range fighters. If I let you fight by my side, your skills as a close-range fighter will mean that you will be placed at a disadvantageous position. I will not risk having you caught in a crossfire, Sakura."

Gaara was right; Sakura knew that already. But it did not settle the unease inside her. She did not know if the animosity between father and son ran deep enough that Gaara might lose himself in the battle and return injured, or worse.

"At the very least, let me assist you as your medic-nin," Sakura held up one hand to stop Gaara from interrupting her, "Take Mr. Fluffy-kins with you when you are fighting the Fourth Kazekage. I won't have to be physically by your side, but at least Mr. Fluffy-kins can bring you to safety if anything goes wrong."

"Nothing will go wr…"

"Please," she pleaded.

He knew that Sakura was trying to come to a compromise, and in all honesty, the sand-cat would not give him worries – not when it was made out of sand and chakra. And sand cannot be wounded or killed unlike a certain pink-haired kunoichi.

"Very well. I will take Mun with me if that will put your mind at ease," he finally conceded defeat with a soft exhale.

Sakura smiled softly at him, and replied, "Yes, it does. Thank you."

Comfortable silence settled between them, and Gaara took the opportunity to look down at her hand that was resting on his arm. His own hand looked disproportionately large next to hers: a reminder that no matter how strong Sakura was physically, she was still a woman. It made him instantly protective of her.

"Gaara," spoke up Sakura, "the two kunoichis who were on guard duty just now – are they both from Suna?"

Gaara shook his head, "No – one is from Suna, but the other is from Iwa."

Sakura chuckled as if she just heard a joke, and said lightly, "at the very least, Gaara, this war has accomplished one good – it has brought together all Five Shinobi Nations."

"It has accomplished one other thing."

"And what might that be?"

"It brought you to me," replied Gaara.

Slowly, so as not to startle her, Gaara reached out and placed his arm around her shoulders and drew her close. Sakura could feel herself being moved along by Gaara, but the action was so unfamiliar to her that she felt lost in her own body for a while. Gaara had brought her close enough for her shoulder to bump lightly against his chest, and simply stopped there with a contented-sounding sigh.

Sakura, on the other hand, had gone so rigid that if she so much as moved a muscle, she was certain that she would shatter into a million tiny pieces. She needed to divert herself from the overwhelming weight of his arm around her shoulders.

"Gaara, the two kunoichis… I know I should not pry, but what were you talking to them about?" Talking was a good distraction – it gave her mind something else to focus on aside from how very close Gaara was.

"I didn't feel like sleeping, so I decided to talk to a few of our shinobis to find out how the war had been for them thus far," began Gaara, "Mostly, they are understandably nervous about the coming battle with the resurrected Kages and their White Zetsu armies. However, shinobis are not meant to be at a heightened state for extended periods – they are starting to feel weary about the war."

Sakura nodded in understanding, "Most missions take at most a few days, and missions that last over a month or longer are rare for people like us. Even when our missions last that long, there is usually some downtime for us because such missions are typically tailing or intelligence-gathering missions – our targets don't move 24-7 unlike the White Zetsu army. And with the recent assassinations, everyone is on the alert even when they should be resting and recharging."

"The two kunoichis I just spoke to mentioned celebrating my birthday as a way of breaking from the war, even if it's just for a day."

It just struck Sakura that while she knew Gaara was older than her by a few months, she did not know when his exact birth date was. The communications between the villages rarely covered such topics.

Did that make her a bad friend? Or was that a bad girlfriend? Or a bad good friend?

_Arrghhh!_

"When do you turn eighteen?" she asked, deciding to ignore the little voice inside her head that was just crying out for a label for what they were.

"Twenty-three days from now," Gaara's smile turned rueful, "I'm not sure it's an event worth celebrating, but if we can build the morale of our troops by giving them something to look forward to, I will allow it."

Sakura looked puzzled as she asked, "How can a birthday not be worth celebrating?"

"Because it's the day I killed my mother."

"It is also the day you were born," she retorted, determined to shove aside any ill thoughts that he might be harbouring, "You did not kill your mother on your own violations. Besides, without you, Gaara, I don't think anyone else could have allied the Five Shinobi Nations against Akatsuki. We should celebrate for all that you've achieved for us."

"Naruto might be able to rally the Five Shinobi Nations."

"And probably start the Fifth Shinobi World War by accident at the same time – he suffers from a permanent Foot-In-Mouth condition," Sakura giggled.

Gaara would always be fascinated by how a smile can light up her entire face – ten years from now, fifty years, a hundred, an eternity even.

What could she possibly find attractive in his constantly schooled features, his politician's mask? Wouldn't she find Naruto's open cheerfulness more appealing?

"Gaara, you're doing it again," Sakura's voice shook him out of his reverie.

He was perplexed by her words. "And what might that be?"

"You are getting that knot in your… well, in the mid-point of where your eyebrows should be," Sakura frowned, "You are over-thinking something again, aren't you?"

"I'm thinking about what will happen later today." It was not a complete lie – Naruto would be arriving within the next few hours to assist their battle efforts, and Gaara knew that it would only be a matter of time before he would have to broach the topic of his relationship with Sakura to his best friend.

And probably lose his best friend in the process.

"I am willing to listen, if you are willing to talk about it."

"I…" Gaara paused, looking to Sakura and asking with his eyes if he should continue; she nodded for him to speak further, "I was wondering how Naruto will take the news of our relationship."

Sakura blushed, unconsciously reaching for Gaara's hand that was resting on her shoulder.

"Well, we like each other – that much is certain. But we haven't started dating yet, have we?"

Gaara smiled, "I'm afraid that usual dating procedures of movies and long walks in the park are out of question for now, Sakura."

"That's not really what I meant, Gaara," Sakura turned even redder, if it was possible, and suddenly she found her toes very fascinating, "I mean, are we emotionally there yet? Beyond the point of just being friends?"

Gaara's only response was to give her shoulder a squeeze and draw her a little closer.

"What we have right now, it is perfect. I don't think we need to put a name to it," replied Gaara.

Sakura was silent, and with her head bowed, Gaara had to bend over to look at her face.

"You're doing it, too."

"Mmm?"

Gaara reached out with his free hand and gently tapped at the point slightly above the bridge of her nose, "You are over-thinking our relationship. 'Let nature take its course', remember?"

His fingers were still lightly pressed against her forehead, and Gaara slowly slid them down the side of her face, tilting her face upwards to meet his gaze.

It took all of his courage to say his next words when he saw the trust in her eyes.

"Can I kiss you?"

Sakura's eyes seemed to widen in slow motion when the meaning of Gaara's words sank in. He always took her hand without requesting her permission to kiss it. So if he was asking for permission now, it meant…

_Oh, stars._

For some reason, Sakura could not speak. Her tongue felt numb and yes, she was definitely having what was commonly called an 'out-of-body experience'.

Little by little, she closed her eyes, hoping he would take the hint.

Initially, Gaara was puzzled by her actions, but he soon realised that Sakura had gone very still, and seemed to be waiting for something. And that something was probably his next move. He leaned forward, senses alert for any changes in her body language.

Just as his lips ghosted against hers, Sakura's breath hitched slightly.

So Gaara veered off-course, and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth instead.

As he drew back, he exhaled quietly and studied her face. Sakura's lips were parted, and when she finally opened her eyes, she looked dazed.

_I should have stayed on course_, thought Gaara a little ruefully.

But the moment was gone. He pulled back enough to let them settle back into their previous posture, his arm still around her shoulders.

"That was a little anti-climatic," Sakura gave him a sheepish grin, and tugged at a lock of her hair nervously. She was grateful that they were concealed from prying eyes.

"Perhaps another time," Gaara replied coolly.

The loud thumping of his heart against her shoulder spoke volumes that he was just as affected as she was.

Clearing her throat lightly and taking the chance to compose herself, Sakura then looked up at Gaara and put on her medic-nin front, "Gaara, you really should be resting."

"Sakura," his voice held command in it, "I would like you to stay for the sunrise with me."

Sakura felt an internal jolt – had they really been outside for that long? She quickly looked towards the horizon and saw that the very edges of it were starting to turn a pinkish hue; they had been out talking for over two hours.

"Congratulations, Kazekage-sama," Sakura's voice held a note of irritation, "You've managed to convert me into a night owl like yourself."

Gaara merely shrugged, and the action only served to tick her off.

"Well," began Sakura airily, "I suppose we're just going to have to make you more chakra tea before the battle. And maybe some stimulants as a precaution."

"Haruno-san, I would like to watch the sunrise in peace," there was the tiniest hint of amusement in Gaara's voice.

The camp below was starting to stir as shinobis woke from their sleep and started going about in preparations for the battle that was less than six hours away. Gaara wisely drew his arms away from her shoulders and took a sideway step from Sakura to create a respectful distance between them. His gaze was transfixed on the sun that was just starting to peek over the horizon.

A few of the shinobis had glanced up at the watchtower when they detected two powerful chakra signatures. Once it was clear that it was just their Regimental Leader and his personal medic, most of them went back to their tasks, with the exception of a few kunoichis that had started to gather and whisper amongst themselves.

Despite the space between them, and the fact that Gaara was now in his role as Regimental Leader, Sakura felt only one emotion: tranquility.

She wished that time would stop right there and then; not because of the battles to come, but because of the serenity that Gaara was projecting.

Maybe they did not need a label for what they had, after all.

She felt perfectly at ease around him. Words alone would never be sufficient to describe how she felt; standing next to the man that had shown her the parts of him that he had kept hidden away from everyone else.

That morning's sunrise was the most beautiful sight that Sakura had ever seen – her smile said so as much.

Gaara looked in her direction and silently agreed.


	25. Chapter 25

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

Longest chapter to date, and no more long chapters after this. There.

Those who have read the manga covering Gaara's confrontation with his father would already know how little fighting there actually was, so, I'm improvising.

Reviews are appreciated, as always.

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><p>High noon – the hour of reckoning.<p>

The resurrected Kages had stayed on course, each coming in from a different direction. They would have successfully boxed the 4th Division in, had Gaara not mobilised his men first to fan out into a wide arc around their borders.

The White Zetsu army arrived first, and stopped just outside of striking range of the Allied Shinobi Forces. The resurrected Kages stayed at the back of the army, obviously hoping to draw their attackers forward and throw their position into chaos.

Gaara lifted a hand to halt his shinobis, and everyone waited to see which side would make the first move.

In the end, it was the Allied Shinobi Forces that made the first move. More specifically, it was one individual who made it.

"Yo."

"Naruto!" Sakura jumped at the blond shinobi's sudden appearance, and well, his change of appearance; he was all aglow in his Nine-Tails Mode when he decided to make his entrance.

The shinobis around started talking excitedly, some clearly in awe of how powerful Naruto looked, while others greeted him with reservations. He was still the Kyuubi jinichuuriki after all. But this was Naruto – he would just grin and brush off any criticisms directed at him.

"Sakura-chan, I'm not late, am I?" asked Naruto as he peered towards the tall outcropping of rocks where Gaara and Oonoki were standing.

"No, you're just in time, for once," she smiled, "You are a shadow clone, aren't you? Where is the real Naruto headed?"

"Yeah, I'm a shadow clone, so you better not hit me too hard, or else – 'poof'!" grinned Naruto, "And I'm heading towards Madara's base right now with Killer Bee. He knows we're coming for him, so we don't have to be all stealthy-like in our approach."

"Naruto, this is serious! You have to be careful, especially when you're facing an immortal like Madara," Sakura was torn between wanting to beat the optimism out of Naruto, and hugging him for it.

"Sakura-chan, you worry too much," Naruto said, leaving Sakura to wonder if she really was doing that; Naruto was the second person to tell her that in the past few hours, "I'm going to check in with Gaara now to see what he wants me to do."

"Didn't Tsunade-shishou and Inoichi-san give you your orders already?"

"Yeah, but the field situation might be different, so I'm going to see what Gaara has to say." With a wave of his hand, Naruto leapt right up onto the outcrop in two bounds.

He landed soundlessly a short distance away from both Kages. Oonoki turned around at the presence of a foreign chakra signature, but Gaara, having already noticed Naruto's chakra signature amongst his shinobis since a few minutes ago, did not.

"Hey, Gaara. Tsuchikage-sama," greeted Naruto, "Sorry I'm late – had to clean out some White Zetsu clones in the 2nd Division on my way here. So, are we proceeding with the war council's instructions?"

Gaara finally turned around to face his smiling jinchuuriki friend. As Naruto had been completely unaware of the ongoing war until a day ago, the blond shinobi must have done a lot of catching up with the Intelligence Division since. The previous instructions were for him to create shadow clones and send them into all Four Divisions to root out the enemy clones, and to assist the 4th Division's upcoming battle against the resurrected Kages. However, Gaara did not want his friend overstraining his chakra reserves performing both tasks right now.

"We should concentrate on eliminating first-hand threats for now, Naruto. I want you to create three more clones – one to assist each segment of our Division. Stay among the shinobis and help them fight against the White Zetsu army."

"What about the four Kages?" Naruto jabbed a thumb towards the four lone figures behind the sprawling enemy forces, "Shouldn't we be targeting them first?"

"I don't want you to overwork yourself by creating too many shadow clones, Naruto. This battle may go on for days if we do not take out the Zetsu clones first. I especially do not want them infiltrating this Division to create mistrust among my men, so your priority is to stop that from happening," explained Gaara.

"A few more shadow clones won't make much of a difference to me, Gaara," Naruto was not boasting, but just stating a fact, "I promise I won't die, not before becoming Hokage anyway."

Gaara knew he was not going to win this argument, not when Naruto's eyes belied his fierce determination to protect everyone.

"Very well, you may assist Nara-san and my siblings. They will each be facing a very powerful Kage – specifically, the Second Mizukage and the Third Raikage. Although they are backed by a sizable shinobi army each, they can still use your help."

"What about you and Tsuchikage-sama?"

Gaara crossed his arms over his chest, then turned to look in the direction of the four Kages before finally speaking up, "Tsuchikage-sama and I will be taking on one Kage each. We know their techniques inside-out, thus we're in the best position to confront them. The Fourth Kazekage and Second Tsuchikage utilise devastating attacks that can wipe out hundreds or even thousands of our shinobis in a single blow, so we want to draw them as far away from our men as possible."

Naruto held his tongue when Gaara mentioned the Fourth Kazekage. He knew exactly who that was, and what this fight meant to Gaara almost immediately.

Gaara needed this confrontation, and as his best friend, Naruto was not going to deny him.

"Well, you're the Regimental Leader, Gaara, so I guess you know best. Man, first you beat me to become a Kage, and now you are the field leader for the entire shinobi army. Are you ever going to stop taking glory away from me?" Naruto feigned being wounded, clutching his heart while his mouth opened in a dramatic sigh.

_I have taken more than that_, Gaara thought glumly. However, he knew better than to bring up the topic of his growing affections towards Sakura at this time. The last thing he needed was a confrontation with Naruto at such a crucial point.

"You'll surpass us all one day, Naruto," he replied calmly.

"And that day can't get here soon enough!" Naruto pumped one fist in the air, "Okay, I'm going back down to give those Zetsu clones one heck of a beating. But if I sense that you guys need me, I'm going to jump in whether you like it or not, got it?"

"As if we can stop you," smirked Gaara.

Naruto simply gave him his widest grin yet, and was just about to rejoin the shinobi army when he noticed something at Gaara's feet.

"Erm, Gaara – why do you have a cat with you?" Naruto pointed at the creature pacing around Gaara's heels.

The sand-cat lifted its gaze to meet Naruto's, and immediately puffed itself up into a fluffy sand ball of sorts. The Kyuubi's intensely powerful chakra was clearly distressing it, and Gaara quickly nudged the cat to his other side before Naruto could do something stupid to worsen the situation; perhaps by patting the sand-cat.

"This is Haruno-san's cat," explained Gaara, "Although she is my personal medic, I refused to take her into this battle with me. So as a compromise, I'm taking this cat along."

Naruto shot him a baffled look.

"The cat can transport me back to safety if required," elaborated Gaara.

Naruto's mouth took a silent 'O' shape. It took a few moments for him to process Gaara's earlier words, and his eyes instantly bugged out as he shouted, "Wait, you get 24-7 personal attention from Sakura-chan? And isn't her cat supposed to be a calico girl? This one has bal… I mean, this one is a boy!"

_Sound really carries out here_, thought Sakura gloomily as Naruto's words pierced through the air and ricocheted around the surrounding dunes and mountains.

"It was Hokage-sama's idea to assign me a personal medic," Gaara left the rest unsaid, figuring that there was no point in tossing more fuel into the fire that was already threatening to consume Naruto's brain.

Naruto suspiciously rubbed at his chin. Clearly, something was afoot – perhaps this was a test from Tsunade baa-chan to find out if he could be calm in the face of shocking news. Yeah, that had to be it – the training for becoming a Hokage never stops!

"Okay… but what about the cat? This cat is not Harumi, because Harumi is just a regular cat that likes to wind herself around my ankles all the time. This cat is a nin-cat and obviously unfriendly."

"Haruno-san missed her cat, so I made one for her," replied Gaara.

Sticking to just plain facts and not saying unnecessary words was Gaara's plan when talking to Naruto; he still had absolutely no idea how to explain his growing attraction towards Sakura to his best friend; who was, incidentally – as if it was not weighing enough on his guilt already – in love with Sakura as well.

"You are a real good friend, Gaara," grinned Naruto, "You can focus on your fighting now that I'm here – I'll protect Sakura-chan!"

Naruto was gone and away before Gaara could say another word, and that suited him just fine.

A few seconds later, a loud "thwack" echoed up from the shinobi army, indication that Naruto was probably sporting a new bruise courtesy of his beloved teammate.

Oonoki finally turned to face Gaara and asked doubtfully, "That's our savior and best hope against Akatsuki?"

"Yes. Yes, he is."

* * *

><p>"Are we being slighted?" grumbled the Second Mizukage, "All they are doing is just standing there and waiting for us to make the first move."<p>

"Stalemate," intoned Mu softly, "It is still hard to believe that our villages have all banded together to fight the one who controls us."

The Third Raikage stood forward, and the remaining three Kages turned to look at him.

"I'm going to make myself clear on this – I don't want to hurt, let alone kill my own shinobis. But our will is not our own right now. We should disclose our combat weaknesses to our shinobis to end this conflict with minimal losses."

"Are you losing your edge, old man?" chuckled the Second Mizukage.

The Third Raikage did not even bother to face him when he spoke again, "We are already dead. So what if they know of our weaknesses?"

The Second Mizukage made a tsk-ing sound and turned away, appearing offended by the Raikage's words; just in time to witness a wall of sand easily over a hundred meters high coming right at the four of them.

"Okay, there's a buttload of sand headed straight for us," there was a combination of amusement and admiration in his voice, "Whose village does this shinobi hail from?"

_Sand._

The Fourth Kazekage whirled around, and his eyes widened at the massive tidal wave of sand coming right at them. The number of times that he had witnessed such a force of nature could be counted on one hand, and none of them bode well.

This could only mean one thing – Sunagakure has decided to employ their deadliest weapon, inducing Gaara into a false sleep so that Shukaku's powers will be at its greatest. It was the double-edged sword that the Suna elders never foresaw: Shukaku would effortlessly win their battles for them, but at the same time, collateral damage was just part of the game to the demon tanuki.

And he was the only one who knew how to stop Shukaku.

"Honourable Kages, I will handle this," declared the Fourth Kazekage.

Seeing the grim determination in his eyes, the Third Raikage nodded and said, "We will go forward to engage our shinobis, and see if we can do something about those white creatures as well."

The three Kages transported away just as dark rings formed around the Fourth Kazekage's eyes. He watched the oncoming sand with an unwavering gaze, and when he deemed the moment perfect, slammed both hands into the ground to invoke his special technique.

At first, nothing seemed to happen, and the Fourth Kazekage felt an instance of fear; had his resurrected form somehow returned corrupted and unable to use his famed ninjutsu?

Then just as suddenly, the ground beneath his feet shook, and a blast of gold dust burst out with a bestial roar. Like a monstrous wave, it headed straight for the tsunami of sand.

Both waves met in a thunderous, heads-on crash, scattering sand and gold dust across the battlefield. The heavier gold had slowed the onslaught of the sand, effectively weighing the sand grains down in a rain of dust. The Fourth Kazekage blinked, quickly commanding his gold to clear his line of sight.

It was not the demon tanuki that greeted him, but his own flesh and blood in human form. Gaara was standing aloft a sand platform, his form still coiled from his initial attack.

He had approached his father alone.

"Gaara?" The Fourth Kazekage could not hide the surprise in his voice, ignoring the sand now encasing his legs from calf-down, "Where is Shukaku?"

He was not surprised at his father's assumptions – that he would not have been able to wield sand with such ferocious power without the aid of Shukaku. After the sixth failed assassination attempt on him, his father had grudgingly agreed to train Gaara, treating him more like a weapon than a son. And in all those years, Gaara had never demonstrated the ability to control such an enormous volume of sand while in human form.

That was all the value his father saw in him – a honed blade to be used against Suna's enemies.

"Shukaku is gone, father," replied Gaara as he leveled his gaze, "I am no longer the jinchuuriki you made."

If anything, the Fourth Kazekage looked even more astonished as he muttered, "That's not possible. You would have died if Shukaku was removed from you."

"I did die, father. But Chiyo-sama gave her life for mine."

The Fourth Kazekage concluded one thing from their current conversation – the world had gone absolutely stark raving mad; Chiyo was the very person who proposed sealing Shukaku inside his youngest child, and she had viewed Gaara as a failure as well. Yet somehow, she was willing to die to save the monster she created?

The Fourth Kazekage's gaze hardened, "Chiyo might have deemed you worthy of saving, Gaara, but I will find out for myself if that is the case."

In a blur of hand seals, the sand at the Fourth Kazekage's feet crumbled away, and he leapt backwards to create some distance between them. He still had no idea why Gaara was able to manipulate sand despite the demon tanuki's absence, and he intended to find out why.

Gaara launched himself forward on his sand platform at breakneck speed, intended on intercepting his father and to stop him from drawing him too far away from the 4th Division; He did not require the assistance of his shinobis, but if he were to stray out of range, his men might just come for him anyway.

The last thing he wanted was for his shinobis to be caught in the crossfire; in particular, a pink-haired kunoichi.

The Fourth Kazekage misinterpreted Gaara's lone assault attempt, though.

"So, they are sending the berserker alone to confront me, hoping to get rid of us both in the process?" taunted his father as he sent another rush of gold dust at Gaara's platform, hoping to throw him off balance.

Gaara quickly steadied himself, swiftly discarding the weighed-down sand and replacing it with more from his gourd. This was how the Fourth Kazekage had trained his son – by always pinning him down under the weight of his gold dust technique whenever Gaara's defense faltered for even the slightest moment. It was his way of telling him that Gaara could never hope to rise above his own sire.

"No, father. I chose to fight you alone, to protect my village and my people from you," Gaara locked gazes with the Fourth Kazekage even as he directed a stream of hardened sand at his father's feet.

"Your village?"

"I am the Kazekage now."

The Fourth Kazekage could only stare disbelievingly at his son while dodging the attacking sand – the failed Ultimate Weapon of Suna was now the leader of his village? The monster who once killed friends and foes alike indiscriminately was now in the position of absolute trust?

"You are lying," declared the Fourth Kazekage.

Gaara regarded the older man coolly, replying, "I have nothing to gain from such deceit. In fact, now that I am a Kage, I am starting to understand why you have tried to have me killed so many times.

"As the Kazekage, you had to put your people first; you needed to protect the village and you chose to do it by sealing Shukaku inside of me. When I became a clear threat to the people of Sunagakure, you were simply taking the most appropriate course of action – trying to eliminate me. Your duty was to protect your people, even at the cost of your own flesh and blood. I can see now why you did what you did, and I bear no grudge against you. I only wished that my mother did not have to die for the mistakes that we have both made."

The Fourth Kazekage's glare hardened as he regarded his son, now exuding all the calm confidence of a born leader. Gaara was his last-born; he was far too young to be a Kage in the eyes of his father.

"Then show me that you are worthy of the title you now wear." With that, the Fourth Kazekage launched into offensives.

Although the Fourth Kazekage stood stock-still, Gaara knew only too well that his father had already begun the battle. The question was, which direction would his father's gold dust be coming from? Gaara had been on the receiving end of the irritating metal in his eyes far too many times to count.

Gaara weaved a sand shield just in time to fend off the onslaught of pellet-sized gold bullets. The bullets disintegrated upon impact, quickly mixing into the sand shield. Gaara had no choice but to discard the now significantly heavier sand.

… And then came the actual attack itself; Gaara had suspected that the gold bullets were just a diversion.

He was about to summon more sand from his gourd to block the incoming jet of gold dust from the opposite direction when a streak of orange-red darted into his line of sight.

The sand-cat collided with the gold dust and disintegrated into a puff of sand. Before Gaara could even fathom what had happened, the sand-cat re-materialised on his sand platform, shaking itself vigorously to dislodge whatever gold it could.

Perhaps it was not the brightest of moves to stuff the sand-cat under a small sand dome with an airhole on top, now that Gaara considered it – it was not as if the sand-made cat needed oxygen, and the sand-cat had probably turned itself into sand and slipped right out of the airhole. On the other hand, encasing the sand-cat in an airtight dome reeked of animal cruelty, thus Gaara's current quandary.

"Stay out of this, Mun. You shouldn't even be here," Gaara took his eyes off his father for just a moment to chide the sand-cat.

It was not the best time to learn that the sand-cat – or basically cats in general – did not respond to orders very well. In fact, the sand-cat shot a very insulted look at Gaara before turning away from him, tail swishing as it looked at Gaara's opponent.

"No," commanded Gaara, knowing that he could have been talking to a rock for all the response that he was getting.

Soundlessly, the sand-cat leapt off the platform and went charging for the Fourth Kazekage, not caring that its approach could be seen; the older man had attacked its maker, and it wanted to respond in kind.

The Fourth Kazekage's reaction, however, was completely unexpected: he froze and simply stared at the tiny, charging cat, looking utterly confused.

Gaara squinted, trying to make out his father's single spoken word.

_Kagetora?_

The Fourth Kazekage held both arms out, shielding himself from the sand-cat just as it transformed itself into a sand cloud in his face. It was a warding gesture more than anything else, but that was also the opportunity that Gaara was waiting for – he glided over to his father, rapidly summoning sand to encase the Fourth Kazekage's entire body, leaving only his head and neck exposed.

The sand-cat returned to its form and leapt onto Gaara's sand platform. Both cat and maker gazed down at the now-trapped Fourth Kazekage who was busy blinking sand out of his eyes.

Gaara steeled his voice, "Who is Kagetora?"

The Fourth Kazekage lifted his gaze to the sand-cat, and after several heartbeats, he shook his head almost sadly.

"No," muttered the Fourth Kazekage cryptically, "You're not him."

Gaara did not have time for his father's nonsensical words. He repeated his question more forcefully this time, "Who is Kagetora, father?"

The Fourth Kazekage's eyes were downcast as he pondered the implications of the sand-cat's presence. Eventually, he looked up at Gaara.

"Kagetora… was the nin-cat that I gave your mother when she made jounin.

"This sand-cat of yours… the resemblance is uncanny. Kagetora was the most talkative animal ally that I've ever met – your mother could spend hours with him discussing everything and anything. He was always by your mother's side, whether if she was on missions, or if she was just strolling through the village. He only deliberately left your mother's side twice – when Temari and Kankurou were being born – and came back a month later on both occasions; he was not fond of screaming babies.

"He did stay for one birth though – yours. You were born premature and feeble, and soon after your mother… passed on, Kagetora stayed beside your special incubator and never left, not even to eat or drink. When you were finally strong enough to be moved to a normal crib, Kagetora would curl up beside you, purring.

"He never talked again after your mother's death.

"Then the morning when you opened your eyes for the first time, the nin-cat was simply gone. My men tracked it to the deepest parts of the deserts, and lost all traces of it there."

The Fourth Kazekage sighed deeply, his entire form seeming to sag despite being held up by sand. Gaara's eyes had widened in surprise in the meantime, alternating between looking at his father and at the sand-cat.

"Why… why are you telling me this?" Gaara's voice faltered in spite of his best efforts to appear unaffected.

"You re-created one of your mother's most treasured companions from your sand, even when you had no idea of its existence. The odds of that happening are just…" then the Fourth Kazekage lifted his gaze to look at the point over Gaara's shoulder, "You are watching over him, aren't you, Karura?"

A hissing sound emitted from Gaara's gourd, and he turned his head – just in time to see a sand-mirage of a woman with shoulder-length hair standing beside him. It took him a few seconds to finally summon the strength to speak to the mirage whose photo sat on the family mantle till this very day.

"Mother?"

The mirage simply smiled softly at him, placed her hand on Gaara's shoulder, then turned towards the Fourth Kazekage. Gaara was still staring at the mirage, not quite believing his eyes. He had always wanted to see his mother's smiling face, but now that he was faced with it, it seemed to have gone against everything that he had been told about her.

"But mother hated me! Yashamaru told me that when he tried to kill me!" The hand on his shoulder lifted away briefly before settling back down, the mirage looking sadly at him.

The Fourth Kazekage finally spoke up, "They were all lies, Gaara. Lies to test you.

"The senior council wanted to make sure that Shukaku could be controlled under even the most volatile of situations, and that meant a test of your emotional stability as a jinchuuriki. Yashamaru had instilled in you a great love for your mother, and love is a weakness a jinchuuriki cannot possess.

"So I ordered Yashamaru to attack you, and lie about your mother's affections for you in the process.

"Understand this: Yashamaru never hated you, not even once. If there was anyone he genuinely hated, it was me for essentially causing your mother's death when I agreed to have Shukaku sealed inside her womb."

The Fourth Kazekage chanced a glance at Gaara, and was struck by how horrified Gaara looked. Slowly, Gaara lifted his trembling hands up, staring at them in disbelief.

"Did I… murder my maternal uncle for no reason?"

"He was testing you, under my orders."

Just as suddenly, Gaara's eyes turned vicious and he yelled at his father, "You let me murder countless people in order to assess my suitability as Suna's Ultimate Weapon?"

The Fourth Kazekage at least had the good sense to hang his head in shame.

"Gaara, I'm sorry," muttered the Fourth Kazekage, "I have taken from you your childhood, your mother, created a rift between you and your siblings… But most of all, I am sorry for ever lying to you that your mother never loved you."

"The meaning of my name…"

_The Demon that Loves Only Himself._

"_Your mother gave you that name, Gaara-sama, with her dying breath. She died cursing the village and your existence," said Yashamaru._

"You were so precious to her, that your mother's last words were that she would protect you for all time – _The Demon that I Shall Love_," the Fourth Kazekage looked up at the mirage of his beloved wife, "And she did. You should have lost the ability to control sand once Shukaku was removed from you, but your mother must have been watching over you and helping you retain your powers. Karura was an expert in sealing ninjutsu; she must have sealed away some of Shukaku's powers even when the demon was removed from you so that you would still have control over sand.

"There is no better proof than the visage of her standing next to you, created from her own consciousness."

Gaara turned to the smiling woman, and felt the impact of her promise penetrate his heart.

The sand-cat had looked at Karura, but shown no signs of recognition. Still, it purred softly from behind Gaara.

"Father," said Gaara as his voice started to crack, "Thank you for telling me the truth."

"You are indeed worthy of the Kazekage title, Gaara," the Fourth Kazekage smiled with fatherly pride, "I only regretted that I was never able to express my love for you as a father should."

Quietly, Gaara applied the resurrection seal to the sand encasing his father – the one certain way of returning Kabuto's tainted handiwork to rest. The Fourth Kazekage did not struggle, and in fact seemed almost relieved at what was being done.

By the time the seal had done its work, Gaara's mother had vanished back into his gourd, although the feel of her hand on his shoulder lingered.

Gaara collapsed to his knees suddenly, startling the sand-cat. It quickly backed away, but drew closer and purred in concern when it saw that Gaara's head was tilted back as he trembled.

For the first time in seventeen years, Gaara openly wept in a mixture of relief and joy.

* * *

><p><em>Focus.<em>

That was the mantra that Sakura had been chanting to herself the moment the White Zetsu army rushed them, which was also the precise moment Gaara chose to propel himself away from the present battlefield to meet the Fourth Kazekage as planned.

Sakura decided to distract herself from worrying about the possible outcomes of Gaara's confrontation with his father by joining in the skirmish; her role as a field medic could wait until there were casualties to attend to. Careful to conserve her chakra for healing later on, she attacked with a kunai in one hand and the other readied to pick from her array of ninja tools.

It was not as if her monsterous strength would have been much use in their current situation: with enemies and allies packed together like sardines, a single chakra-infused strike from her would result in friendly fire.

One of Naruto's clones was right at the front of her Division's segment, quite literally pummeling his enemies into oblivion before most of the White Zetsus could get a chance to steal their shinobis' chakra. There was a small circle of space around him, and Sakura made a beeline for him where they readily fell back-to-back. Their movements synchronised as easily as the act of breathing, having worked together as teammates for so long.

"Just like the old days, eh, Sakura-chan?" grinned Naruto.

"Pay attention to the enemies, Naruto!" she chided.

Naruto's only response was to smile and mutter, "Yep, just like old times."

It did not take long for the casualties to start showing up, and Sakura reluctantly pulled herself away from the battlefront to attend to the injured. On the battlefield, Sakura was only able to perform triage healing, just enough to ensure that the injured would live long enough to be transported to the medic base; she could not waste her chakra on fully healing anyone.

Not even Naruto. Or Gaara.

It was the most basic duty of a field medic, and she hated it with pure irrationality.

Sakura had no idea how long had they been fighting – she was kept busy by a constant stream of incoming injured. So she did not even notice the cloud of sand materialising over her head until the sand-cat landed on her shoulders and startled her enough to make her jump.

"Mr. Fluffy-kins!" Sakura gaped at the purring cat, "What happened? Where is Kazekage-sama?"

The sand-cat purred contentedly as it continued rubbing its head against her cheek, and Sakura decided that if the sand-cat did not have to transport Gaara back to her, it most likely meant that he was alright.

That still did not explain where Gaara was, though.

But she could not abandon her patients now to go looking for Gaara, even if that someone was their Regimental Leader. Sakura simply had to accept that the sand-cat's presence was indicative of Gaara's safety, and carried on with her work.

Unbeknownst to Sakura, Gaara had returned and was now assisting the Tsuchikage and Shikamaru in their fight against the Mizukage; his siblings seemed to be handling their situation well, but an old Tsuchikage and a shadow technique user were not exactly the best match for a genjutsu expert. In addition, the sudden departure of the Second Tsuchikage was something that they had not accounted for, and Oonoki was now facing an enemy that he did not have enough intel on. As far as the redhead was concerned, he had fulfilled his end of the bargain – he had taken the sand-cat with him in his clash with his father as he had promised Sakura.

There was also the matter of the fact that he did not want to face the sand-cat right now, not when it still reminded him so much of his mother's unwavering love and his father's sincere sadness.

Gaara chanced a glance at Sakura, her pink hair making her stand out even in the chaos below. She seemed to be unhurt, and his heart lifted at that thought.

That in itself gave him the strength to move on to the next battle.

* * *

><p>Naruto's presence had really turned the tides of the battle for the Allied Shinobi Forces. Aside from his devastating ninjutsu attacks, the fact that the strongest jinchuuriki in existence was fighting alongside gave the 4th Division a huge morale boost.<p>

However, that did not change the reality that the Allied Shinobi Forces suffered substantial losses, and Sakura found herself drafted back to the medic base when news of the four resurrected Kages' defeats came in succession and the White Zetsu armies retreated as the day turned into night.

Shizune quickly assigned all available medics to the tents where immediate medical attention was required, and Sakura was about to volunteer for that position when Shizune held up a hand.

"Sakura, you have been performing field healing for almost the entire day. The last thing I need is for you to over-exert yourself," the brunette swept a hand across the sea of medic tents, "We have our work cut out for us for at least a fortnight, and I am going to need your help as much as possible."

For once, Sakura did not argue. Her placidity caused Shizune to raise an eyebrow in disbelief, but she decided to count her blessings and she immediately directed Sakura to a tent to perform non-chakra based healing.

Sakura had obeyed without talking back; she was simply too tired and somewhat numbed to put up any form of resistance. Although she had been trained as a field medic and had gone on numerous missions in such capacity, none of her previous experience had prepared her for the carnage she had witnessed today. On her four-men teams, it was easy to focus her healing on the injured; on larger teams, it was a little harder but still manageable.

However, when it had reached the point whereby Mr. Fluffy-kins had to help her by bringing in the injured from the frontlines because she was simply too busy healing the injured behind enemy lines…

When there was a brief respite from the never-ending stream of injured shinobis being brought to her, Sakura called out to Naruto to ask about the situation at the different segments of the 4th Division; Naruto's shadow clone from Shikamaru's Division had just returned with a cocky grin etched on his face, which Sakura took as a good sign.

She was stunned to hear that Gaara's fight had been the first to be concluded, and almost wanted to ask why had Gaara not immediately returned to his shinobis. Naruto simply shrugged and said that Gaara was held up by the fight against the Second Mizukage. He had reported it as a fact, completely unaware of the pact between his best friend and his long-time crush.

Sakura allowed no emotions to show on her face, although she was worrying about just how much chakra Gaara had spent in the long hours of confrontations today.

Drawing a calming breath, Sakura readied herself for an all-nighter shift as base medic, and finally pushed aside the tent flap. There were two civilian doctors inside the tent, and they nodded their greeting to her before beckoning her towards her workstation.

Sakura was so preoccupied, both with her own thoughts and with bandaging her thirty-seventh (or was it the thirty-ninth?) patient's arm – whom happened to be Matsuri – that she did not notice how Matsuri's eyes had widened and were now trained at a spot behind her.

"Haruno-san."

Sakura whipped her head around, surprised to find Gaara standing behind her with arms crossed. His imperious, almost overbearing presence was causing the two civilian doctors to attempt camouflaging themselves against some file drawers. Matsuri, on her part, looked absolutely awestruck by Gaara.

Only Sakura noticed how his hands were subtly trembling. And that he was not carrying his gourd – but that was not really an issue when Gaara could command any sand at his disposal. It was just odd to see him without his gourd so soon after the battle.

"Haruno-san," Gaara repeated himself, "I require your immediate presence in my tent."

Sakura took a moment to snap herself out of the stupor that she did not even know she had succumbed to, then quickly glanced at Matsuri's arm. "Kazekage-sama, I will be right with you the moment I am done with Matsuri's injuries."

Everyone, with the exception of Sakura herself, looked completely aghast that she was effectively disobeying a direct order from the Regimental Leader.

Gaara's normally passive features suddenly turned impatient, and he reached down to heave Sakura up by her arm, causing her to give a small yelp of surprise.

"Her injuries can be treated by a civilian doctor. But I cannot wait any longer."

"Kazekage-sama, you may be the Regimental Leader…" Sakura began in slight exasperation, at a complete loss on how to deal with Gaara's very strange turn of emotions.

"You are correct, Haruno-san – I am the Regimental Leader, and I want you in my tent. Now."

Gaara snaked an arm around Sakura's waist, pulled her against himself so abruptly that she could not avoiding slamming into his chest, and promptly vanished in a swirl of sand.

They left behind two cowering civilian doctors, and a statue-like, slack-jawed Matsuri.

* * *

><p>Sakura arrived back in their tent so suddenly that she did not have the chance to orientate herself before Gaara and herself fell onto the carpeted floor in an awkward tangle of limbs, leaving Gaara half-sprawled across her body. Gaara's arms were wrapped around her back, pulling her so tightly against himself that he had lifted her back off the floor. His face was pressed against the smooth column of her neck, and every shuddering breathe he took made Sakura tremble for some reason unknown to her.<p>

Sakura did know something, though: she knew with extreme gratitude that she had left Katsuyu with Shizune back at the medic tent, or Gaara would really be getting a faceful of acid right now from the protective slug summon; it did seem reasonable for Katsuyu to assume that she would be defending Sakura's honour if she attacked the clinging Kazekage.

Even if Sakura herself was not feeling that her honour was in any danger of being violated.

The sand-cat was conspicuously missing from the tent.

Now that Sakura had a moment to consider the situation, she was struck by the complete oddity of it; had it been Naruto, Sai, or even Kakashi-sensei holding her like this right now, she would have sent them into suborbital space travel. But this was Gaara – someone whom once withdrew from her touch months ago – and now he was all over her like a very clingy… pet of sorts.

Something was very wrong.

Gaara's voice was raspy when he said, no, _commanded_, "Hold me."

Sakura obliged him, although albeit hesitantly – Gaara's arms had pinned hers to her side, so she could only reach up to grasp him by his sides. Timidly, she tried to soothe him by rubbing his sides firmly but gently.

Once he felt her touch, his shoulders shook even harder. It took Sakura a heartbeat to put together the combination of his trembling form, his shaky words and harsh breathing.

Gaara was crying.

And that scared her more than anything else that she had even seen as a kunoichi.

"Gaara," she whispered against his tickling hair, "Gaara, please, tell me what is wrong."

"Lies," growled out Gaara, and his voice shook once more in a hiccuping sob, "My entire childhood was built on nothing but lies."

Sakura held her tongue, knowing that the ensuing silence was all the prompting Gaara needed to talk; when he calmed down enough.

As Gaara's breathing steadied, he began to speak. He spoke in a quiet voice, trying to avoid injecting emotions into his words. But it was not an easy task given the things that he was telling her.

He told her first about his confrontation with his father, purposely omitting the part about Mun; By Gaara's reasoning, Mun possessed no consciousness of his once-living likeness, so there was no need to complicate matters by telling Sakura that the sand-cat he gave her was essentially a physical replica of his mother's own cat.

Little by little, Gaara revealed to her his entire past, and finally told Sakura everything about Yashamaru – both the truth and the lies.

What troubled Sakura most was how Gaara claimed to have "murdered" his uncle.

Still, she did not interrupt him, knowing that she needed to hear all that he had to say, just as he needed to have someone to listen to him.

When Gaara finally stopped speaking, Sakura waited a moment longer, just to be certain that he had nothing else to add. His face was still buried against her neck, but his fierce hug had by now lessened in its intensity, allowing Sakura to rotate her stiff shoulders.

Abruptly, she reached up and clasped both her hands to his ears, startling Gaara enough that he drew back to meet her gaze, eyes still slightly red and puffy from earlier.

"Gaara, your childhood was _not_ built on lies," she stated plainly.

"But…"

"But nothing," one of them had to be strong, and Sakura knew it had to be her right now, "You were told lies by your father, and your uncle did so under his orders. There is a difference between being told lies, and thinking that your childhood was built on them."

She drew her hands higher, and reached out to part his unruly fringe, exposing the kanji on his forehead.

"Yashamaru-san loved you, and your mother swore to protect you for all times; the best proof is your ability to continue controlling sand despite Shukaku's absence.

"And in his own way, your father loved you. Why else would he train you personally, knowing that there was a kill-order on you from the senior council? If the Suna senior council wanted to, I am sure they could have stripped your father of his title."

Gaara's eyes widened in pure surprise; he had not considered his father's merciless training sessions from that perspective before. Searching his memories now, he recalled how his training sessions had always been supervised from a distance by a senior council member.

But Sakura was not done. She pulled him closer, now cupping his cheek with one hand as the other traced his kanji tattoo. She could feel the slight indentation under her fingertip, and she realised that it was not a tattoo, but missing skin torn away to form the kanji for 'love'.

"Your childhood was built on unconventional ways of expressing love, but it does not cheapen the emotion," she looked him straight in the eyes, still tracing the kanji with slow, deliberate strokes, "Gaara, you have always been loved by those closest to you, and that has nothing to do with the fact that you were once a jinchuuriki and now the Kazekage."

Sighing softly, Gaara reached up to pull her hand away from his forehead, and Sakura panicked for a second, thinking that she might have violated some unseen boundary by touching his mark.

"No one has ever touched my scar before."

Sakura blinked in surprise, and immediately went rigid when Gaara drew her hand to his lips and kissed her fingertips one by one. His gesture was completely alien to her right now, and it did not help that his fringe was hiding his eyes from her, thus making it impossible for Sakura to discern his thoughts.

Sakura swallowed as quietly as possible to mask her nervousness, "Gaara, I think…I…"

The young Kazekage finally looked up at her. When he saw that he had Sakura's full attention, he turned his head to plant a soft kiss to her cupping palm, eyes half-lidded as he gauged her response.

Sakura's reaction, as often was the case, was to simply freeze like a deer in a hunter's sight.

"I think… the moment is right," Sakura finally found her tongue.

_Real smooth, Haruno. Why don't you just ask him to jump your bones and make mad monkey love to you while you are at it?_

Sakura really hated her subconscience, sometimes.

She could feel Gaara's lips curling into a smirk against the sensitive skin of her palm. Almost lazily, he dragged himself upwards so that he was now face-to-face with Sakura. Gaara allowed their breaths to mingle for a while, just long enough for Sakura to perform the perfect imitation of a ripe tomato.

"Very well, Sakura."

Gaara bent his head down, and pressed a closed-mouth kiss to Sakura's lips. And another. And another.

Slowly and self-assuredly.

It took Sakura's brain a while to catch on to what was happening, but when it did, she responded in kind to his kisses, all the while wondering if Gaara had ever kissed another woman before; he certainly seemed confident enough, and definitely attractive enough to draw the attention of the opposite sex.

When he finally parted his lips ever so slightly, she could sense him trembling minutely against her over-sensitised lips.

Sakura knew then that without a doubt, she was the first woman Gaara kissed so intimately, and that realisation gave her a rather pleasant jolt down the length of her spine. Boldly, she reached around his neck and drew Gaara impossibly closer.

That was all the reassurance Gaara needed to know that he was on the right track, and his response grew more fevered.

Sakura did not know how long they spent lost in each other's kisses. It might have been a few seconds, a few minutes… even a few hours. Whenever Gaara drew away to steal a breathe, the disappointment she unconsciously showed only served to draw the redhead back in like a potent, irresistable drug.

And it was not as if Gaara was going to pass up the chance to memorise the feel of Sakura so close to him; it was the first time in a very long time that he felt so safe and warm and…

Loved.

"Sakura," Gaara forced himself away from her kiss-bruised lips to plant a quick kiss to her cheek, resisting the urge to smirk at her dazed look, "Sakura, the sun is starting to rise."

Sakura sat up so quickly, Gaara only _just_ avoided having a head-on collision with her forehead. Her back made a popping sound of protest, having bore both hers and Gaara's weight for quite a while, but she ignored it.

_Oh, stars! How is it possible to do nothing but kiss someone for three hours straight?_

Sakura quickly did the calculations in her head – it must have been at least nearing four in the morning when Gaara whisked her away from the medic base, and they had spent at least two hours talking.

Alright, it was probably closer to an hour that they spent doing nothing but kissing.

Not that it made Sakura feel any better.

"Sakura?" asked Gaara, rubbing her arms both to sooth the troubled look on her face as well as to draw her attention.

She turned to look at Gaara, and her eyes were immediately drawn to his redder-than-usual lips. Gaara's hair was a little tousled from her running her fingers through them, and he too had a slightly dazed… no, drunken look in his eyes.

Sakura extended both arms – an invitation for an embrace. Gaara obliged her without a second thought.

Even with all the layers of clothes between them, Sakura felt that it would have been impossible for them to feel anymore intimate.

Except when during the course of Gaara's attempt to perfect his kissing techniques, he had developed an embarrassing interest in wanting to know the touch of Sakura's skin better. Sakura decided not to mention there and then about Gaara's very male evidence of his desires for her, chalking it up to a natural, biological reaction of being so physically close. Gaara in turn had done nothing to acknowledge his little (or not so little) dilemma, and simply went on kissing her as if all his senses only functioned from waist-up and nowhere else.

"Gaara? Is this it?" Sakura asked softly, "Are we… a couple?"

By the end of the day, Sakura still preferred having a label assigned to the nature of their relationship – her logical side demanded that much.

Gaara was silent as he pressed a kiss to her ear, causing her to squirm slightly – an interesting reaction that he mentally filed away for further study.

"Such an anachronistic choice of words, Sakura," replied Gaara, chuckling lightly.

Sakura blinked, then turned her head slightly towards him, "Well, what would you call us?"

Gaara paused, then drew back to meet her questioning gaze.

"We're more like two halves of the same soul, taking too long to have finally found each other."

Sakura pondered his words for a moment, then her voice grew serious, "Gaara, I need you to promise me something."

"Anything." The redhead readily agreed, still giddy from the pleasant sensations that he had shared with Sakura.

"Promise me that if you ever decide to become a poet, you won't quit your day job."

Gaara blinked in surprise, but his lips slowly curled into a smirk when he saw the merriment in Sakura's eyes.

"I'll take it that you don't wish to receive love prose and poems on your pillow at night?"

Sakura giggled, "They don't really work on me, Gaara. I think I've read enough poems about the tragedy of mortality to last me a lifetime."

"That, and my poetry stinks?"

"I didn't say that, Gaara."

"No, but your face says it all."

They would both have been more than contented to spend the rest of the day quietly together, but Fate really hated Sakura.

Gaara suddenly drew away, and he lowered the sound barrier of the tent enough for one very familiar voice to pierce right through the fabric.

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!"

Naruto.

Sakura found herself seized with panic and unconsciously clasped her arms over her chest as if to hug herself, but Gaara took control of the situation by squeezing her hand, reassuring her of his intention to be by her side at what was to come.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto's voice was coming from the vicinity, but he did not seem to know exactly which tent Sakura was in, "Sakura-chan, your cat is biting me and he won't let go!"

Sakura bit back a snort of laughter; Naruto loved small animals and would always try to befriend them. Sadly, the Kyuubi's aura was often too intense for his fluffy targets, and most of them would flee at the sight of Naruto.

Or in the case of cats, attack him. Harumi was not a nin-cat and could not attack him conventionally, but she _always_ seemed to get underfoot whenever Naruto visited. Naruto, blissfully unaware of the calico cat's intentions to kill him, simply assumed that Harumi was just being extremely affectionate with him.

"We should speak to Naruto," declared Gaara suddenly.

"Now?" baulked Sakura. She was not yet mentally prepared for this confrontation, even though she knew it was certain to come.

"I owe him that much," Gaara stood up, and held his hand out to Sakura.

Slowly, Sakura nodded and placed her hand into his. She allowed Gaara to gently pull her to her slightly wobbly feet. It did not help that the closer they walked to the tent flap, the more her legs felt like jelly.

"Naruto," called out Gaara as he lifted the tent flap.

The blond jinchuuriki was a comical sight to behold – his pants were halfway off despite his best efforts to hold onto his waistband, and the sand-cat was quite resolutely tugging on his pant legs, growling and perhaps trying to pull Naruto away from Sakura and his terrritory.

In the sand-cat's mind, both the concepts of Sakura and his territory were interchangeable.

"Gaara! Hey, since you made this cat, can y…" Naruto's voice trailed off when he found himself unable to look away from Gaara and Sakura's linked hands.

The three of them stood silently, all not quite knowing who should be the first to break the silence. The only one unaffected amongst them was the sand-cat, still intent on… whatever it was trying to do to Naruto's pants.

"Naruto," began Sakura, feeling her courage slip away as her teammate turned stiff, "We need to talk."

"I can see that."

Nothing, absolutely nothing, could have prepared her for the utter disappointment in Naruto's clear, blue eyes.


	26. Chapter 26

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

In the manga, Gaara's manifestation of his mother in his sand shields seemed like a case of Oedipus Complex, so I had planned to use the sand-cat as a representation of his mother instead.

* * *

><p>"You wanted to talk. So, talk."<p>

Naruto's earlier bout of yelling had drawn the attention of more than a few shinobis, and they decided that it would be better to move into the tent to continue the confrontation. Naruto has said nothing, simply following after them.

Unfortunately, the tent that had been Sakura's home for the past few months, once so cosy and inviting, suddenly seemed oppressively small and about to close in around her. She was standing by Gaara's side, having decided that if she was going to pursue a relationship with the Kazekage, she should not have to disguise her intentions.

Naruto, arms crossed over his chest, waited with atypical patience for them to speak.

The mood within the tent would have been entirely somber, if it was not for the fact that the sand-cat was now hiding under Sakura's bed, growling and guarding a shred of Naruto's pants possessively.

"Naruto," it was Gaara who chose to break the silence, "I have started courting Sakura."

Mentally, Sakura slapped her forehead; trust Gaara to state the obvious.

When she stole a glance at Naruto, however, the perplexed look on her blond teammate's face seemed to suggest that perhaps things were not as obvious as they seemed to her.

Naruto's scowl deepened, "And were you guys planning on telling me? Or were you hoping that I'd find out from the gossiping kunoichis at the medic base?"

Ah, Matsuri. Of course the Rumour Forest would have erupted into flames the moment Gaara stole her away, and right in front of one of his biggest admirers no less.

"Naruto, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that I was going to wait for the right time, because there will never be a right time for this," Sakura shot a look to Gaara, and he took the hint to vacate the tent. The sand-cat followed after Gaara, crouching as it darted past them and still guarding its prize jealously.

Once the tent flap fell back into place, Naruto took a step closer to Sakura, disenchantment radiating from his entire being. Sakura felt the overwhelming urge to reach out and embrace him, but somehow it felt as if it would make the matter worse than it already was.

"Sakura-chan," it almost broke her heart to hear him addressing her so sweetly, "When you came to 'confess' your love for me, despite it having been a ploy to stop me and Sasuke from fighting, there was this small part of me that hoped against all hope that somehow, you meant it.

"It's been over five years since Sasuke deflected from Konohagakure, and we've all seen how much Sasuke had changed since. You've always been the smartest and most logical among the three of us, Sakura-chan. I thought… when Sasuke got branded as an international criminal and tried to physically hurt you once more, you would finally be over him; and I would finally have the chance and the time to work up the courage to tell you how I've always felt about you. But you still looked so dejected despite Sasuke's blatant attempt to kill you, I knew he must have meant more to you than I had imagined.

"I have always loved you, Sakura-chan. When I knew you were smitten with Sasuke, I had one more reason to intensify my rivalry with Sasuke. He had all your attention, and I wanted you to look at me the same way as well.

"Sakura-chan, I know these will sound cliché and naïve of me, but all I wanted was to make you happy. When our first attempt at retrieving Sasuke failed two years ago, you looked so miserable, and I knew then that all the years had not dulled your feelings for him. I will bring him back to you, Sakura-chan – you do not deserve to settle for less."

Sakura's resounding slap on his cheek seemed to echo in the tent for an eternity.

Naruto blinked, his hand automatically moving up to cover his now smarting cheek. Sakura's chest was rising and falling visibly from the deep breathes that she was forcing herself to take in order to rein back her temper.

She had forced herself to listen to Naruto's (very wrong) assumptions about her feelings towards Sasuke, but when he implied that she had decided to settle for someone lesser, the gloves were off.

"Naruto, you…" Sakura struggled to scrap together her sentence against the rage threatening to overspill from her, "How could you talk like that about one of your closest friends? How dare you think that I am just giving up and going for the next best alternative when it comes to the people I care for? Gaara was and never will be a replacement for anyone!"

Looking extremely bewildered while rubbing his smarting cheek, Naruto explained, "Gaara once told me that he did not feel very different from Sasuke – the both of them driven to prove themselves in order to find worth in their lives. I thought this similarity…"

"Well, you thought wrongly. Even if there were any similarities between them, that was when we were children. Did you conveniently forget that Sasuke left us in search of power and nearly killed you to attain it? What other mad atrocities has he committed since his time with Orochimaru? Do you think we know about all of them?" Sakura then brought her hand down on Gaara's table, effectively leaving a permanent indentation of her palm on the polished wooden surface, "And who do you think started this whole damned war that we have been fighting for months now? Whom exactly?"

She felt a splash on water on her foot, and it took Sakura a moment longer to realise that she was crying; crying again like a helpless little girl.

That thought only made her sob even harder, and Naruto slowly approached her to wrap his arms around her from behind, pulling her tightly into his warm embrace.

"Sakura-chan, please, don't cry," the blond whispered.

Sakura watched through misted eyes as his Nine-Tails Mode melted away, leaving behind a very familiar blond shinobi in his blinding attire of orange and black. She curled herself backwards into his embrace, ducking her head to hide her falling tears despite knowing that it was a futile act.

"Naruto… do you know how many shinobis have died in these few months alone? How many other lives have now changed forever because a loved one had died in battle? It is just so hard… so hard knowing that it could have been avoided if I had been strong enough to kill Sas…"

Naruto spun her around so suddenly, Sakura had to grab onto his jacket to keep her balance. His bright blue eyes were wide and almost appeared to bore into her soul.

"Sakura-chan, what are you saying? You love Sasuke – it's not your fault at all if you could not bring yourself to finish the job."

Sakura drew a shaky breath, then promptly dropped a bombshell on Naruto's nicely-compartmentalised little world, "Naruto, I never loved Sasuke."

Naruto was silent for at least a few minutes, his arms still loosely wrapped around Sakura. Although his head was bowed, he was tall enough that Sakura could look into his eyes and study the emotions running through them: confusion, anger, and finally sadness.

"Sakura-chan, if you are trying to lie to yourself again…"

"I am NOT!" Sakura yelled so loudly that Naruto recoiled on reflex, although he still did not let go of her.

She hoped that Gaara had the sense to re-erect the sound barrier when he had left the tent.

She waited for Naruto's grip on her arms to slacken, then firmly pushed them back to his sides. Sakura then drew in a deep breath; an action that Naruto knew she often took before she either punched him or gave him an earful.

"Naruto, I had a talk with Ino a few months ago," she shot him a look that threatened him bodily harm if he interrupted, "To make a long story short, I realised that I was never actually in love with Sasuke himself. Instead, I was in love with an idealised version of Sasuke which had never existed in the first place."

Naruto crossed his arms, tilted his head and pondered her words for a long moment, then rather eloquently stated, "Huh?"

Sakura sighed loudly, knowing that she would have to lay it out in detail for Naruto.

"Ok, Naruto, tell me – what is the one thing that every girl in Konohagakure found appealing about Sasuke?"

Naruto snorted derisively, "Every girl thought he was just so good-looking. He's just trying to act cool by being all broody and mysterious!"

At that, Sakura had to giggle; it was true – the mysterious nature of his aloofness lured girls to him like bees to honey.

"Well, see, I was attracted to him for that initially," admitted Sakura, finding it odd that she did not feel any shame in saying so, "And when Team Seven formed, I was over the moon at the prospects of being on the same team as Sasuke. But eventually, I grew to care for both you and Kakashi-sensei as well."

"We were a good team, Sakura-chan."

"The best."

They waited for each other to speak first, and it seemed to take forever before Sakura continued, "But I don't think my feelings towards Sasuke really went beyond his looks. I was just another fangirl."

Sakura touched her heart quietly, then looked up at Naruto, "Do you remember what he said at the team introductions?"

"_My goal is to restore my clan and kill a certain man. I am an avenger, and nothing more."_

"I wanted to heal that hurt inside of him, wanted to reach out to him so badly, I managed to confuse that feeling for an attraction to Sasuke. But in reality, Sasuke wasn't and never would be the person I consider an ideal life partner. He looks emotionless on the outside, but like Karin-san told us – he seems to be running purely on rage now," Sakura could not help feeling a little sad, both for Sasuke's many losses in his life and her own first crush, "the man I consider my ideal has nothing in common with what Sasuke has become."

"Sasuke-kun."

"Pardon?"

"I didn't hear you refer to him as Sasuke-kun even once today," Naruto cleared his throat softly, "You're really over him, aren't you, Sakura-chan?"

"You can't really be over someone that you've never loved, Naruto."

"And your decision to be with Gaara… does it have anything to do with all the time you spent together?" Naruto sounded regretful, as if lamenting his own time spent apart from Sakura.

Sakura nodded, unable to say anything once she caught Naruto's tone of voice.

"Does he treat you well?"

The soft smile on Sakura's face told Naruto everything he needed to know.

"I'm glad," said Naruto as his face broke into an endearing smile that did not quite reach his eyes before he turned to leave the tent.

"Naruto, wait!" Sakura grabbed onto his sleeve.

"Sakura-chan?"

She shrunk a little at the sadness radiating from Naruto's entire being, "I… I'm sorry I lied about my feelings for you. I really wish I could love you back the way you love me, but I…"

Naruto shook his head, "Gaara deserves some happiness in his life."

_So do you,_ thought Sakura.

Suddenly, she hit upon a thought from the time that Pein attacked Konohagakure.

"What about Hinata? She really likes you – she said so as much when Pein almost had you." Perhaps she was grasping at straws, but Hinata was the one girl she knew that loved Naruto unwaveringly; Naruto deserved a woman like that.

Naruto grinned, "Sakura-chan, I can't force you to stop liking Gaara, so you can't force me into liking Hinata either. She is a nice girl, and I know she is fond of me, but I'm not ready to move on just yet. You will always be special to me."

"Naruto…"

The blond shinobi gave an exaggerated stretch of his limbs, then strode towards the tent flap purposefully.

"Now, you'll have to excuse me – I'm going to have a little punch-up with Gaara," Naruto smiled disarmingly.

"What? Stop it, Naruto! I won't have you and Gaara fighting over my decision! Best friends don't beat each other up for another person's choices!" Sakura's eyes widened in shock as she dashed after her teammate.

"We're not going to 'fight', Sakura-chan. We're just going to settle this the Bro Code way."

"… Excuse me?"

* * *

><p>"Naruto is just following the rules of the Bro Code," intoned Shikamaru passively from his medic tent cot.<p>

The Nara prodigy's cryptic reply did nothing to settle Sakura's already frazzled nerves, especially not after she ran all the way to the medic base the moment Gaara and Naruto both vanished in a wave of sand; they left her standing with the sand-cat that was now by her side, looking equally confused.

"Okay, Shikamaru, you tell me – what exactly is this 'Bro Code' about?" Sakura said through clenched teeth.

Shikamaru, incapacitated by nothing more than a bad sunstroke (and an equally burnt ego), turned to his side on the cot and leveled his gaze with the now seated Sakura.

"Let me guess: you are dating Kazekage-sama now," Shikamaru stated more than asked Sakura.

"Yes, I am. But I fail to see how that is relevant and oh, stars – Naruto and the Regimental Leader are beating each other up…" her voice dropped to an awed whisper, "… I just started the Fifth Shinobi World War all by myself, didn't I?"

Sakura looked so appalled at her 'realisation' that Shikamaru had to stifle a snicker. Well, he tried; his laughter slipped past his gritted teeth in an odd, whistling sound.

"Shikamaru, this isn't funny! I may have just destroyed the Kazekage-sama's closest friendship!" hissed Sakura, aware that their conversation was in danger of being overheard in the crowded medic base.

Shikamaru reached up to wipe away a tear of mirth, then said, "Sakura, despite all outside appearances, you did not just start the Fifth Shinobi War."

The sand-cat suddenly leapt onto Shikamaru's bed, and for a moment Sakura worried that it was going to attack Shikamaru. Much to her surprise, Mr. Fluffy-kins started rubbing itself against Shikamaru's hand, purring loudly in the process. The young man blinked at the cat's sudden affections, but decided not to question it; perhaps it was trying to butter him up for some unknown, cat-ish reason.

Shikamaru's hand automatically began rubbing the cat as he continued, "I think you know how the story usually goes: two guys are the best of friends because they have many things in common, including their preference in the opposite gender. As a result, they often find themselves falling for the same woman. Male rivalry kicks in, and those on the lower end of the evolutionary chain usually choose to settle it with their fists."

It occurred to Sakura that Shikamaru just implied that Naruto was a Neanderthal for instigating the fight, and she found it a strangely accurate assessment of her teammate's hit-first-talk-later mentality.

"As you can tell, it is not the best way to settle such problems – too many cracked heads – so some guy came up with the Bro Code," Shikamaru annoyingly chose to pause at that moment to take a drink of water; Sakura suspected he did it to keep her on tenterhooks, "It is a set of unwritten rules governing male friendship. One part of the Bro Code covers exactly how to settle the situation of when two best friends fall for the same girl, especially if she has made her choice already."

Shikamaru went quiet, and Sakura nodded with certainty, "I am going to stay by the Kazekage-sama's side."

"Ok, and clearly, Naruto knows that – which is why he invoked the Bro Code. In order to preserve his friendship with Kazekage-sama, they are going to mock-fight to let off some steam, toss a few angry words here and there that they don't really mean, and finally, when they have broken a bone or two, they will re-affirm their friendship while wishing the winner of the lady's heart the best in the future."

Shikamaru was certain that his words should not have made Sakura go slack-jawed and looking even more horror-struck than ever, but clearly they did.

"Sakura?" he asked, concern evident on his face.

When Sakura finally recovered enough to speak, she clapped her hands over her cheeks and muttered, "So in the end, the solution is still for them to fight it out? That is just… redundant."

"Ah, but they still stay as friends afterwards," pointed out Shikamaru.

Sakura sank into the nearest chair as a boneless lump.

_Men are crazy._

"Yo, you Sakura?" an unfamiliar male voice came from behind the privacy curtains before a muscular, dark-skinned man strode into view.

Sakura's senses went on high alert at once, her hand poised over her kunai pouch; this stranger knew her name, and under war time circumstances with all the Zetsu clones still hidden among their ranks, she had to assume the worst.

"Relax, Sakura," said Shikamaru unexpectedly as he gestured to the sunglasses-donning man, "This is Killer Bee-san, the Hachibi jinchuuriki."

The tall man flashed her a lop-sided smile, and Sakura forced herself to smile back; her brain was working overtime at the sight of this stranger.

_Wait, didn't Naruto say yesterday that he was heading towards Madara with Killer Bee-san?_

"Killer Bee-san," began Sakura as she bowed, "It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for taking care of Naruto for the past months."

"The honour is all mine, young lady. And I hate to say it, but lately Naruto's acting all funny."

"Whatever do you mean, Killer Bee-san?" Sakura was starting to get that annoying, sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Well, we were headed straight for Madara's base, when he suddenly decided to head for this place."

It did not take long for Sakura to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Naruto's shadow clones had vanished one by one after the battle, and one of them must have overheard the screaming kunoichis about Gaara's sudden abduction (there really was no other word for it) of her from the medic base. Concerned as ever, Naruto must have decided that it was a matter important enough for him to discard his original plans and instead come rushing to Sakura's aid.

There was also the issue of Naruto's fight with Gaara – if he had been a shadow clone, it would take just one good hit to vanquish him. They would not even have a chance to get to the angry words stage.

Bottom line: the real Uzumaki Naruto had made a several hundred kilometers detour simply to find out about Gaara's intentions towards her.

Sakura was extremely glad that she was already seated; otherwise, her legs would have given out on her.

Shikamaru looked from her to Killer Bee, and then back again. Finally, he nodded and said with a slight grin, "You did not start the Fifth Shinobi World War, Sakura, but I think you did throw a spanner into the current war."

Fortunately for everyone, the sand-cat caught her in a cloud of sand as Sakura toppled out of her chair in a dead faint, then promptly whisked her away to goodness knows where.

Killer Bee turned to the slightly sun-burnt youth and jabbed a thumb outwards, "If that's the girl of Naruto's dreams, I think she could really use some proteins."

Shikamaru shrugged, and went back to a book on Suna's political history that Temari had left for him.

* * *

><p>"Gaara… you are… an ass…"<p>

"I am not… a donkey… Naruto…" replied the redhead between gasps of air.

Both shinobis were lying on their backs, faced up against the harsh desert sun and breathing harshly as if they had just finish a great battle; which was probably the case. Between the two of them, they had changed the desert landscape twice over, resulting in it resembling the site of a concentrated meteor shower.

When Naruto had first approached Gaara upon exiting the tent, his stormy countenance was enough to give Gaara pause. Sakura was standing at the tent flap as it fell close, looking extremely troubled. Having taken both factors into account, Gaara decided that Naruto was there to end their friendship. The idea made bile rise in this throat: Naruto was his first real friend after all.

The blond shinobi walked right up to him, and Gaara rose from patting the sand-cat to meet Naruto's gaze. Instead of saying anything, Naruto simply jerked his head sideways; Gaara interpreted it as that Naruto wanted somewhere with more privacy to 'discuss' the matter with him.

And what place offered more privacy than the deep, uncharted desert itself?

Gaara took them away with his sand just as Sakura rushed out, one hand stretched out as if to stop them. The distress on her face only served to affirm his resolve to settle the issue with Naruto as quickly as possible, and he forcefully pulled his gaze away from her as the sand swallowed them both.

Naruto saw, but made no comment.

Once they had arrived in the middle of what appeared to be nowhere to Naruto, Naruto threw his arm out, finger just shy of poking Gaara in his eye.

"We are going to fight, Gaara," stated Naruto, "And if you consider me a friend, then you will not hold back."

Naruto's choice of words gave Gaara that sliver of hope he needed to believe that their friendship could still be salvaged.

It would explain why in Gaara's enthusiasm to prove to Naruto that he respected him as a fellow combatant, he accidentally broke Naruto's tibia. In response, Naruto had yelled something about not wanting to ruin Gaara's "pretty face" for Sakura's sake and promptly head-butted Gaara in the kidney.

Everything pretty much went downhill from there.

That had been several hours ago.

The desert sun was high overhead, and both men had sprawled themselves out on the sandy surface, too exhausted to seek out any shade. Naruto's broken bone had healed itself nicely along with whatever bruises he had, thanks to the Kyuubi's supernatural chakra. Gaara, though, looked every bit a man who had just walked out of a common street brawl, tattered clothes and all.

"Hey, Gaara."

"Hmm?"

Naruto rolled himself over with a loud grunt, and Gaara turned his head to face him. They simply stared at each other for a very long time.

Naruto's face finally broke into a genuine grin.

"No hard feelings?" The blond shinobi asked.

Gaara unconsciously massaged his jaw that was still throbbing slightly, "No, none at all."

With a contented-sounding sigh, Naruto threw himself back onto the sand.

"You know, Gaara, I'm glad that Sakura-chan chose to be with you," Naruto said, "I really do."

Gaara said nothing; he knew that Naruto had more to add.

"I mean, sure, I'm bummed as hell that Sakura-chan said she could never love me, but then again, I guess a part of me was always ready to lose her to Sasuke. I promised Sakura to bring Sasuke back, even when I knew I was killing my own chances with her; I just wanted to make Sakura happy."

_You always did put the happiness of others ahead of your own, Naruto._

"Even though Sakura-chan is now your girlfriend, I'm still going to keep my promise to her to bring back Sasuke," Naruto clenched his fist and held it straight up against the skies, "So, don't get all jealous when I get that idiot back, okay?"

"A promise is a promise, Naruto. I cannot fault you for wanting to keep it," replied Gaara, "And I am certain that Sakura must have told you about her present feelings, or lack of, towards your former teammate."

"Yeah, about that… I really did think that Sakura was trying to stop me from clashing with Sasuke again. But she had this really sincere smile on her face the entire time she was talking about you," Naruto's chest heaved defeat, "I've never seen her talk about a guy like that before, not even once with anyone she dated back in Konohagakure.

"Sakura-chan is really in love with you, Gaara."

Gaara tried to conceal his surprise; he really did. But neither he nor Sakura had ever used that term between themselves, even when the shadows of the past no longer tainted the meaning of that word for him. As Kazekage, he was loved by his people, but romantic love was a completely foreign concept to him. He could only blink owlishly at Naruto's unexpected words.

"Gaara," Naruto's voice was firm, "And don't tell me you don't deserve to be loved. Because Sakura-chan chose to be with you, and I can tell she is happy. If you take that happiness away from her, I will never forgive you."

They would always be best friends, and thus came the inconvenience of being too easily read by each other.

"Naruto, I would never hurt Sakura, or anyone intentionally, especially the both of you. Falling for Sakur…"

Naruto held his palm up right in Gaara's face; the blond shinobi often had little idea of how much personal space others required.

"Gaara, we already yelled at each other about this earlier on. You did not choose to hurt me, and neither did Sakura. Call it…" Naruto flicked his hand about as if the gesture alone would help him find the right phrase, "Call it Fate or whatever. Tsunade baa-chan assigned Sakura to you, and the two of you end up spending the entire time together. You care deeply about people's feelings and always look out for those close to you, and so does Sakura. If the two of you didn't notice each other under these circumstances, I'd actually be more concerned."

Gaara nodded and spoke in a voice just above a whisper, "Thank you for understanding."

Naruto sat up and crossed his arms over his chest, huffing a little as he replied, "A Hokage must be able to adapt to changing circumstances. Anyway, it is better that we sorted this out now then if we waited until I became Hokage – the entire shinobi world might get dragged into a war."

Right. As if there was not an ongoing war already.

"So!" Naruto clapped his hands together and jumped to his feet, then turned to grin at Gaara, "Wanna go back to Sakura-chan and see how freaked out she must be by now?"

"Hang on."

Gaara swept his hand over the endless desert, and within moments, the sand dunes righted themselves, and the pock-marked landscape appeared as pristine as it was when they first arrived.

"Show-off," Naruto muttered.

The blond shinobi extended a hand towards the still-seated Gaara, surprising Gaara somewhat. A second later, Gaara allowed a ghost of a smile to form on his lips as he grasped Naruto's hand and let himself be pulled back up to his feet. Naruto continued his streak of surprising Gaara by throwing an arm over Gaara's shoulder to support him, despite Gaara being (just) able to walk on his own.

Gaara responded in kind; he never expected to feel so happy being embraced by another man.

* * *

><p>Sakura was sitting on the edge of her bed back in her tent, hand clenching and unclenching on her lap; the sand-cat had brought her back to the safety of her usual sleeping place to recover from her shock.<p>

Fortunately, Sakura had only blacked out for a few minutes – by the time she regained consciousness, she found herself back in a very familiar place with Mr. Fluffy-kins purring on her chest. She had ran a quick diagnostic on herself to double-check that her fainting spell was not due to anything more than the guilt of diverting Naruto and Killer Bee from their mission, and was vaguely relieved that it was indeed the case.

Once she found the strength to sit up, Sakura gently moved the sand-cat aside and cast her chakra out in search of both Naruto and Gaara's chakra signatures. She had expanded her search scope as far as possible without straining her chakra reserves, but they were nowhere within the vicinity.

_Don't panic, Sakura. Shikamaru already explained the Bro Code to you. All you need to do is save your chakra for healing their injuries once they return._

Willing herself to calm down, Sakura slowed her breathing and tried to meditate to sooth her wrung-out nerves.

It did not help that moment later, a cloud of sand began to form in front of her and out walked two of her most precious people in the world.

Sakura quickly looked them over: Naruto, as expected, as sporting only a few bruises that are well on their way to healing. If it was not for his rumpled and slightly torn clothes, he could have just returned from accidentally falling down a well. Gaara, on the other hand, had more exaggerated-looking injuries compared to Naruto.

The one thing that stopped her from yelling at them immediately was the similar smirks that they both wore.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," smiled Naruto as he and Gaara walked forward, still holding each other up by the shoulders.

Sakura allowed them to close the distance, and once they reached the edge of her bed, she threw her arms out and locked them both in a crushing embrace.

Naruto, long used to the intensity of Sakura's hugs, simply chuckled and reached around to pat her on her back. Gaara, though, nearly stumbled over at the sudden forward momentum of his body and had to steady himself before he could reassure Sakura with calming strokes on her back.

Sakura was trembling despite basking in the comforting warmth of her two dearest companions in the world.

"You… you idiots; I was worried sick about you both!" Sakura's voice was slightly shaky as she clung onto both men like they her only lifeline. She buried her face against their pressed-together shoulders and willed herself to not cry once more: she had shed enough tears over matters of the heart once too often.

It was only when Sakura was absolutely certain that no tears were in danger of falling that she looked up at two of the most important men in her life. She quickly scrutinised them for any injuries that needed immediate treatment, and Naruto recognised that look on her face in an instant.

"Sakura-chan, I'm alright. You know what the Kyuubi does for me," then he cast a sideways, cheeky grin in Gaara's direction, "But you better take a look at your boyfriend here, because I may have damaged something irreversibly."

"I don't know why you men must always resort to talking with your fists," Sakura mock-scolded Naruto as she checked the torn areas on his clothes for injuries regardless of his dismissal for medical attention.

"Actually, we had a _fantastic_ fight, Sakura-chan. Best I've had in a long time," Naruto sniggered as if the entire situation was nothing out of the ordinary.

Sakura turned to look at Gaara, who simply shrugged and replied, "It was a good fight: Naruto gave his all."

"What?" Naruto gaped at Gaara, "Gaara, if I had really wanted to, I could have flattened you in under a minute. I just went easy on you because I didn't want to bring your corpse back to Sakura-chan!"

Sakura 'innocently' poked one of Naruto's bruises with a chakra-enhanced fingertip, causing him to yelp and jump.

"I could have flattened you just as easily, Naruto. Literally," replied Gaara, a smirk playing on his lips.

Naruto leaned over to Sakura and stage-whispered, "Watch out, Sakura-chan. I think this one enjoys using his sand too much. He may even try to use it on you when you two are having se… OW OW OW!"

With Naruto's ear firmly gripped in one hand, Sakura blushed as she growled through gritted teeth, "Naruto, you are not going to speculate on other people's private affairs!"

Naruto strained to look at Gaara out of the corner of his eyes; Gaara gave a soft, quiet cough and turned away.

"Oh ho – no way, Sakura-chan!" Naruto sounded a little too pleased for her liking, "Don't tell me you guys have not gotten it on yet!"

"Naruto!" she hissed once more, yanking on his ear for good measure.

"Ouch, ouch! Sakura-chan!"

Sakura finally relinquished her hold on Naruto's ear and turned away, her cheeks a brilliant shade of pink.

The blond shinobi looked from his teammate to his best friend, noting how they were both avoiding each other's gaze at the moment. To draw their attention back to himself, Naruto stretched and yawned aloud.

"Well, I guess I better be going. Bad guys to put a hurt on and all that," he placed both hands on his hips, then added, "You guys are going to name one of the kids after me, right? I mean, you have to start soon to raise at least five or six great shinobis to help rebuild after the war, so you guys might as well…"

"Naruto!"

Sakura and Gaara had shouted out his name in perfect unison, and that only made Naruto snicker even more. He decided that it would be in his best interest to leave before Sakura dealt him a good blow and made for the tent flap.

Just before he started to lift the tent flap, Naruto turned around, enough for both Sakura and Gaara to see the sudden serious expression on his face.

"Gaara, I'm glad that it was you who won Sakura-chan's heart. But if you ever hurt her even by accident…"

Naruto left the rest unsaid as he finally left the tent.

In their heart of hearts, they both knew that Naruto was hurting, but he would never show it in front of anyone. One look at each other and they immediately knew what each other was thinking.

After a long stretch of uncomfortable silence, Gaara cleared his throat and said rather redundantly, "That went better than expected."

Sakura turned to Gaara and stood up from the bed, closing the distance between them slowly before she reached out to fold Gaara into a hug.

"I'm really glad it worked out, Gaara. I don't want to think about losing either of you."

Gaara's response was to pull back enough to look Sakura in the eyes, right before he leaned down to kiss her full on the lips.

"Neither can I," he whispered into her ear before pulling back.

Sakura closed her eyes and pressed her face against his collarbone, more to hide her blush than anything else.

"Sakura, I think…" Gaara did not have any time to finish his sentence before he suddenly sagged against Sakura.

"Gaara?" Sakura drew back to look at his sluggish form in clear alarm.

"I… a seat…"

Gaara dropped to the floor of the tent like a limp ragdoll before his eyes could even finish closing.

The last thing he saw was Sakura's panicked expression as his vision dimmed and faded to nothing.


	27. Chapter 27

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

I think I may actually be writing myself into a corner. I do have some ideas on what will happen next, but long reviews will definitely help *hint hint*

* * *

><p>"Chakra exhaustion."<p>

In all his born years, Gaara had never felt this weak or tired. He guessed from the faint light filtering into the tent that it had to be early in the morning; there certainly was a lot of activity going on around the camp, if the numbers of moving chakra signatures was anything to go by. But the mere act of lowering the sound barrier by a fraction had resulted in a sharp pain piercing his temples, causing him to give a low hiss.

The redhead was currently tucked tightly in his own bed, and Sakura was finally fulfilling her duty as his personal medic after so many months of war; chakra tea not counting. She stood near his bedside, a pot of said tea held in one hand and her other placed on her cocked hip in annoyance.

"Gaara, you really should have been pacing yourself. First, you fought a full day on the battlefield, and within hours you and Naruto went for a scuffle, which I assume you both tried to out-do each other in the most dramatic way possible," Sakura sighed, "You never gave your chakra reserves a chance to recover at all."

"We did spend a few hours talking… among other things," Gaara retorted as he fixed his gaze on her.

Was that a slight quirk of the corner of his mouth?

Sakura could not help but blush at the memory, but she had to act in her capacity now as the Regimental Leader's personal medic. Harnessing an aura of calmness, she replied in a clipped, professional voice, "Those scant few hours were barely enough for you to replenish your chakra. I am ordering strict bed rest for the remainder of today and tomorrow, Kazekage-sama. No military meetings, no troop supervision, and engaging in battles will be completely out of question."

The more Sakura spoke, the more Gaara's eyes narrowed. When she finally stopped talking, Gaara had closed his eyes, a knot of frustration starting to form above the bridge of his nose.

"Sakura, you know that it is impossible for me to stay in bed the whole day. We just came off a battle with immeasurable losses – there will be many meetings that I will need to attend and much work to be done to clean up the aftermath and prepare for our next move. I am, in fact, scheduled for a meeting with the War Council today. And I have to go to the medic base to check on my men's conditions."

"Gaara," Sakura ran a hand through her hair in mild frustation, "I know that you are the Regimental Leader, and I understand your obligations, but you are not helping anyone if you insist on working yourself beyond your limits."

"I know my own limits."

"Well, clearly you do not. Otherwise you wouldn't be in this situation."

If there was one thing that Gaara had learnt about Sakura, it was that she _always_ had to win an argument.

Gaara heaved a sigh, "Is there a faster way for me to recover my chakra?"

"Bed rest and chakra tea; your chakra reserves must replenish themselves, and there are no known methods of accelerating the process so far," Sakura's tone was apologetic, "I'm sorry, Gaara, but that's how it works."

She only wished that Gaara would stop giving her that kicked puppy look.

"If I may make a suggestion, Gaara?" Sakura sounded a little hesitant for some reason yet unknown to Gaara.

Gaara nodded for her to speak, and Sakura did, "You have a Second-in-Command right here on your base. I believe Shikamaru will be able to perform all your duties for you for just today. You can count on him to make sensible decisions in your stead."

A tortured look skimmed across Gaara's face briefly, It was true that Shikamaru was his lieutenant, and he could hand off his duties to him for a day without the world coming to an abrupt end. But intelligent as Shikamaru was, the Nara Prodigy still had the tendency to look as if he had lemons for breakfast; a good political front that does not make.

Sakura, misreading his expression for one of resignation, turned on her heels and said, "I'll go and find Shikamaru to let him know of his assignment for today."

"No, I can handle my duties by myself," retorted Gaara as he forcefully threw off his covers and forced himself into a seating position, ready to make a break from his imposed confinement.

Sakura quickly set the tea pot down on the desk and ran towards Gaara, just as he was rising to his feet with some difficulty. His unsteadiness combined with Sakura's forward momentum sent them both tumbling and spinning backwards onto his bed, leaving Sakura compromisingly positioned under him with one thigh between his while Gaara's lips brushed against her exposed neckline.

Sakura, as per her usual reaction, started to turn a bright pink. Her traitorous mind was starting to go to some very awkward places after her rather intense kissing session with Gaara.

Gaara simply blinked, a little disoriented by the fall. There were little sparks of light flashing before his eyes and interfering with his senses, thus leaving him unaware of how wonderfully close Sakura was at that moment. All he could do was give out an involuntary groan of pain at the sudden wave of nausea that he was currently experiencing.

Naturally, Shikamaru had to choose that precise second to walk unannounced into their tent.

* * *

><p>Shikamaru was never a fan of being hospitalised. It usually meant hours of boredom, limited visitors and visiting hours, and being medicated to his gills until he was as happy as a clam.<p>

Fortunately, he was allowed to return to the 4th Division that morning after his attending medic proclaimed him fit for duty.

But not before he forced Shikamaru to down an entire flask of water to fight off the lingering effects of his sunstroke, of course.

Shikamaru was just putting on his sandals when a movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Looking up, he was mildly surprised to see the sand-cat watching him from the side of the tent entrance.

After a pause, he called out, "Here, Munchkins."

It was a reasonable compromise between the Kazekage and Sakura's names for the cat, Shikamaru figured. And the sand-cat seemed to agree when it answered to Shikamaru's beckon.

The sand-cat hopped onto the bed and sat down next to Shikamaru, and the first thing Shikamaru noticed was that it was holding what appeared to be a piece of orange fabric in its mouth. As a cat owner, Shikamaru had received various gifts from his two cats over the years, ranging from lizards (or just their tails) to a stone-cold magpie left on his pillow; never a piece of clothing.

But the moment he started reaching for it, the sand-cat drew back, flattening its ears and growling around the fabric. Its eyes narrowed as it tensed its hindlegs, and the Nara prodigy knew a possessive cat when he saw one.

Alright, so it was a personal trophy – one that looked suspiciously like it came out of Naruto's wardrobe, concluded Shikamaru.

Both man and cat stared at each other, and Shikamaru used the moment of rare peacefulness to sort out the many thoughts that had been running through his mind in the past day.

There was, of course, the matter of Naruto's fight with Gaara. There had been no sound of weeping kunoichis at the untimely demise of their beloved Kazekage, nor has there been news of the Kyuubi rampaging the lands thanks to its now-deceased jinchuuriki. So clearly Naruto and Gaara had come to some sort of an understanding with regards to Sakura.

For Sakura's sake, he was gladdened by that thought.

Something else was bothering Shikamaru, though; it was flat, rectangular and was currently sitting on his bedside table, its front with the words 'A Concise History of Sunagakure's Kages' embossed on it. Temari had simply loaned it to him and said nothing else, and he was now wondering why she had done so in the first place.

Inside said book held his newfound knowledge about how all the Kazekages of Sunagakure had married from within their Village; the only Shinobi Nation with such a practice. The other Four Kages or their predecessors had no such history. In fact, Konohagakure's first Hokage married a woman from the Uzumaki clan to strengthen alliances.

Which meant that Gaara would have to marry a woman from within Suna one day, and that woman would not be Sakura.

He _had_ to tell Sakura what she was getting herself into, before she becomes too involved with Gaara for either of them to part without hurting the other.

Turning to the sand-cat, he said, "Let's go find Sakura."

The sand-cat merely tilted its head slightly in puzzlement, but tagged along behind Shikamaru as he left the tent in search of the Regimental Leader's personal medic.

With so many shinobis currently in the medic base, it would be a difficult, though not impossible, task to locate Sakura's chakra signature. Deciding that it was not worth the trouble, he gestured to a passing civilian doctor.

"Have you seen Haruno-san around?"

The doctor, though, looked as if Shikamaru had just asked him to go on a suicide mission into the Akatsuki base all by himself; contracting a sudden case of albinism, he shook his head and bolted before Shikamaru could even process what had just happened.

Shikamaru stared at the rapidly vanishing figure for a while, wondering what exactly transpired with Sakura that caused that doctor to pale so much at the mere mention of her name. Sakura had always been polite and professional with her fellow medics, as far as Shikamaru could recall.

Maybe the rumour about how Gaara had stormed into the medic base two days ago like a raging bull and practically tore the place apart looking for his personal medic was not too far-fetched after all.

Just as Shikamaru was pondering his next move, he caught sight of a familiar figure from a corner of his eye.

"Shizune-san!"

The harried-looking brunette, her arms full of overflowing medical files, turned towards Shikamaru. Ever the gentleman, he quickly moved to take most of her load for her.

"Ah, Shikamaru. Thank you very much," Shizune adjusted her shoulders a little to ease the cramping feeling in them before they continued towards her tent, "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Well," Shikamaru ducked under the tent flap and held it up for her, "I am looking for Sakura. Do you know where she might be?"

He watched patiently as Shizune first placed her stack of medical files onto a table before she turned back to him to take the other files. Her expression was vaguely troubled-looking.

"Something happened, and I had to release Sakura from medic base duties."

Shizune had continued to put away the medical files, and was thus unaware of how appalled Shikamaru looked for a moment there.

_Was Sakura's fainting spell that serious?_

"Is she alright?" He tried and just about managed to suppress the panic in his voice.

"What?" Shizune did not look up from her task as she answered him, engrossed as she was in her task, "Oh, it's not what you think, Shikamaru. Kazekage-sama has been taken ill, and Sakura had to attend to him since she is his personal medic."

Gaara being unwell was news to him. Shikamaru had not heard anyone mentioning this prior to Shizune's own words, but he supposed it was necessary to limit the number of people who knew of their Regimental Leader's currently vulnerable state.

It also brought up another rather distasteful idea: that he had to look for Sakura in Gaara's tent. Shikamaru had wanted to talk to her about Naruto, and he did not want to broach that topic in front of Gaara.

When even Sai – socially-inept, situationally-challenged Sai – could tell how much Naruto loved Sakura, and Sakura herself was aware of the blond's feelings for her as well, her choosing of Gaara over Naruto had to affect her more than she was letting on.

Shikamaru did not want to see Sakura blaming herself for matters beyond her control yet again; she always had the tendency to let guilt take possession of her senses. When their own relationship fell apart two years ago, it took him a solid six months to convince Sakura that neither of them could have foreseen what had happened. And the current situation now involved Naruto – one of her closest friends and teammate for almost half her life.

_Troublesome._

With a soft sign of resignation, Shikamaru began his slow but determined trek towards the 4th Division Camp, the sand-cat walking in step with him – a constant reminder of whom he was about to face.

* * *

><p>Once he reached the campsite, Shikamaru realised that he had another problem to content with: how was he supposed to announce himself to Sakura with all the wards and barriers set up around the tent without suffering a chakra backlash?<p>

More importantly, how was he going to do it without getting tossed out by sand?

Turning to the seated sand-cat, he asked, "Well, what do you suggest, Munchkins?"

The sand-cat narrowed its eyes at Shikamaru, and he knew that it was most cats' way of saying "are you stupid, human?"

With a soft purr, the sand-cat got up and strode right past the tent flap and into the tent.

_Oh, what the heck. Sakura will not let Gaara kill me anyway._

Screwing his courage to its sticking place, Shikamaru stood a little taller and took purposeful steps towards the tent, and drew back the tent flap with the back of his hand.

The first thing he heard was masculine moaning, and his eyes followed after his ears to the source of the noise – the Kazekage sprawled awkwardly over his female comrade in a tangle of limbs who might or might not be engaging in intimate activities at that moment.

_Well, looks like Sakura is being weighed down by something other than guilt._

The sand-cat chose that exact moment to purr like an engine, causing Sakura to twist her torso to locate it.

Of course, she found Shikamaru at the same time.

"Shikamaru!"

Gaara's groans ceased abruptly, and Shikamaru thought he could hear the hiss of flowing sand in the tent. The hair at the back of his neck started to tingle in silent alarm.

"I… I'm going to come back in, say, half an hour, ok?" Shikamaru quickly offered.

"That will not be necessary, Nara-san," said Gaara in a low, oddly dangerous-sounding tone.

Gaara began to pull himself off Sakura, finally freeing her from his body weight. Sakura could see the small droplets of sweat dotting his forehead; he was clearly still exhausted and her first instincts were to help him into a sitting position. However, Shikamaru was present, and Gaara was his commanding officer. If she were to extend aid to Gaara, it would be misread as a sign of weakness on the Regimental Leader's part.

Finally, Gaara settled into a slightly hunched position on the edge of the bed, and Sakura took the opportunity to slip off to stand at Gaara's desk, hands folded over her lap.

Sakura's blush and Gaara's scowl, however, was really starting to make Shikamaru wonder if he should have left when he had the chance to.

"Nara-san," began Gaara, "I am under advisement from my medic that I should be confined to bed for the next two days, so I will need you to find someone suitable to take over my duties for me."

What?

Sakura blinked in surprise, paused for a moment to process Gaara's words, then quickly said, "But Shikamaru is your proxy Commander, Kazekage-sama. I'm certain that he will be able to perform in your stead for just today."

"I wish to consult Nara-san on some other matters today, Haruno-san," explained Gaara.

Shikamaru was certain that a mere consultation should not result in him feeling so much killing intent from Gaara, but he wisely held his tongue.

"If I can trouble you, Haruno-san?"

"Of course, Kazekage-sama."

_Okay, that's it._

"Sakura," Shikamaru sighed and resisted rolling his eyes, "I already know that you are seeing the Kazekage. There is no need for the two of you to address each other so formally in front of me."

"There are still protocols to be observed, Nara-san," Gaara replied, then turned to Sakura, "Haruno-san, can you locate Baki-san for me so that I may transfer my duties to him?"

Gladdened by the thought that Gaara was finally willing to make her life as his personal medic much easier, Sakura nodded and left the tent with a smile on her lips.

That left Shikamaru all alone with Gaara. And the sand-cat, if one counted it.

"Nara-san, shall we speak frankly?"

The chakra-filled sand that was attached to the back of Shikamaru's ear was rubbing against his skull rather abrasively, for some reason; he had to fight the urge to scratch. Instead, he lifted his gaze to meet Gaara's own.

It was most definitely not the friendliest expression he had ever seen on Gaara.

But for Sakura's sake, Shikamaru went ahead and spoke his mind anyway, "Kazekage-sama, when were you planning to tell Sakura about the Kazehime selection criteria?"

Gaara seemed taken aback for a moment at Shikamaru's directness, but he quickly regained his composure and replied, "That is why I asked my sister to pass you that book, Nara-san. That is also why I needed to speak with you privately."

Shikamaru reached into his pouch and pulled out the book, waving it for affirmation. Gaara nodded once, then promptly turned the tables on Shikamaru.

"Do you harbour affections towards Haruno-san, Nara-san?"

The question was spoken plainly and almost without a hint of any emotions, but Shikamaru could feel the end of the world coming for him anyway.

"I care for Sakura as a comrade, Kazekage-sama."

It was apparently the wrong answer, because Gaara had started to scowl.

"I know what it is like to care for a fellow shinobi, Nara-san, but from your actions around Haruno-san, I can tell that there is something deeper between the two of you; if not in the present, then in the past," said Gaara.

And Shikamaru knew there and then that he was trapped – if he told Gaara the truth, he would be dead. But if he lied to Gaara and it was later found out, he'd be dead-er.

Drawing a breath to calm himself, Shikamaru met Gaara's eyes and replied firmly, "We dated in the past. Sakura and I are just good friends now."

_Mother, father, forgive your son for passing on before you. Please try for a new heir to head the Nara clan._

Gaara went quiet for so long that it took Shikamaru a while longer to realise that Gaara was waiting for him to stop freezing up and start breathing again. The amount of testosterone in the air was almost suffocating.

Gaara's voice became dangerously soft when he asked rather bluntly, "And you have not done anything dishonourable towards her?"

"No," Shikamaru replied, then quickly added for good measure, "Sir."

The Nara prodigy was having an unpleasant flashback to the time when Sakura's father asked him the exact same question sometime after they started dating; her father had taken out his entire antique swords collection and was painstakingly cleaning and sharpening them the entire time he was talking to Shikamaru. Oh, Shikamaru knew it was an act of intimidation more than anything else, since Sakura's father was a civilian, but that did not stop him from breaking out into a cold sweat all the same.

Gaara paused to study Shikamaru's expression, trying to detect any signs of dishonesty. Finally, he lifted his head from his propped-up chin and nodded.

"I believe you, Nara-san," Gaara allowed a ghost of a smile to pass over his lips, "But be forewarned that if you should renew your interest in Haruno-san, I will not hesitate to protect what is mine."

Shikamaru could not help it; he bristled at the idea of Sakura being referred to as a piece of property. While he considered the women in his life to be the source of most troubles, he still respected them as his equals.

"Kazekage-sama, forgive my directness, but Sakura is her own woman and she should be allowed to be with anyone she wants."

"Then I shall give her every reason to stay with me; she will never need to go back to an old flame's embrace."

"Whose embrace is Sakura going back to?" came a feminine voice from the tent flap as it was lifted without warning.

Gaara concluded that today was Unannounced Visitors Day when both his siblings walked into the tent without waiting for an invitation. He was about to voice his displeasure at their sudden intrusion when there was a flare of chakra from outside his tent, and the next thing he knew, he had to add Sakura and Baki to his occupancy count.

The redhead shot another look of warning to Shikamaru before turning his attention to his newly arrived visitors.

"Baki-san, has Haruno-san spoken to you about what you have to do?"

Hands crossed behind his back and standing at attention, his former teacher nodded and said, "Sakura-san has informed me to take over your workload for the next two days. I hope you will take this opportunity to rest and recover well, Kazekage-sama. The war cannot go on without its Regimental Leader."

Gaara nodded and turned towards Sakura next, "Haruno-san, I'd like you to go with Baki-san today to help me observe the state of the Division. Should any problems arise, I trust that the both of you will be able to rectify the situation between yourselves."

Sakura blinked, a little confused by Gaara's request. As his personal medic, she should be by his side to take care of him, and also to ensure that Gaara did not skip taking his chakra tea.

Gaara read the expression on her face accurately and stated, "I will consume the tea every two hours as you have asked me to."

Addressing Baki now, Gaara bowed his head slightly, causing the older shinobi to stiffen, "Baki-san, I hope you will not mistake my sending of Haruno-san with you as a slight on your abilities. I merely do not want you to overwork yourself."

Sakura mentally rolled her eyes at Gaara's explanation. Temari briefly opened her mouth as if to say something, but clamped it shut almost immediately; she settled for shooting Gaara a look of puzzlement instead.

"That will not be a problem, Kazekage-sama. I am in fact honoured to be working with your personal medic on such important matters," Baki bowed low at the waist.

Knowing that it would be pointless to argue with Gaara, not to mention disrespectful to do so in front of his subordinates, Sakura gave him a smile of acknowledgement before following Baki out of the tent.

And then there were four.

"… So, we were with Baki-san when Sakura came for him," explained Kankurou, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

Temari chipped in at once, "we just wanted to make sure that our little brother is alright."

Sighing softly at his siblings's obvious intentions, Gaara said, "the answer is yes: I am courting Haruno-san now."

Temari grinned so widely that Gaara thought her face would crack.

_No good ever came from Temari's grins._

"So, is that why you sent her out with Baki-san? To have her shadow him and learn about the responsibilities of the Kazehime?"

"Perhaps," came his cryptic reply.

Shikamaru decided that it was enough. He took a few steps forward to stand closer to the edge of the bed where Gaara was seated on and scowled, "Are you setting Sakura up for empty hopes, Kazekage-sama? To enter a relationship with her knowing full well that you'd have to marry a woman from within Sunagakure by tradition?"

He pulled out the history book and placed it on Gaara's desk purposefully, then crossed his arms as he said, "As her friend, I do not want to see Sakura hurt once more. She deserves to know that this relationship will have no happy ending."

"And that is why I need you here now, Nara-san," Gaara's eyes were downcast, and his posture went slack for just a second before the gesture could be misinterpreted as a sign of weakness.

Now it was Shikamaru's turn to look confused as he looked from Gaara to Temari, and back.

"I want to be with Sakura," Gaara finally uttered her name directly, "But if you cannot find a loophole in the history of the Kazekages where a foreign bride was made the Kazehime, then…"

Temari heaved a deliberately loud sigh.

"Gaara, you could have asked us to help. If we all put our heads together, I'm sure we can find a way around this," Temari walked over to Gaara's side and sat down on the end of the bed.

Looking to Shikamaru, the Kankurou asked, "You're supposed to be the smart one here, Shikamaru. Got anything from the book?"

"First off, this book is lacking in a lot of details, so I can't really work from it. Unless I can somehow get access to more information from the Suna libraries, I can't assess the situation accurately," Shikamaru did not want to be the one to drown everyone's pinned hopes on him, but he had to be honest as well.

Kankurou suddenly smacked his fist into his open palm, effectively drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Hey, Temari, didn't Yashamaru used to tell us that story about the 2nd Kazehime? You know, the one you still think is romantic after all these years?"

"It's just a story, Kankurou," said Temari, but she suddenly sat up straight, "Although, I think he read it to us from a scroll in the Kage's personal archives. So it may be real."

"Let's hear it," said Gaara and Shikamaru in unison.

Suppressing a snort of amusement at how Shikamaru and Gaara were both so concerned over Sakura, Temari began.

"Sunagakure, as you know, was built in a harsh environment where only the strongest could survive. Around the time of the naming of the Kages, it was decided that the Kazekage would marry the best kunoichi in Suna so as to strengthen the bloodlines.

"However, when it came to the 2nd Kazekage's turn to take a bride, he had already fallen in love with a kunoichi of average abilities. She would never have been able to pass all three trials of mental agility, physical strength and diplomacy as a top candidate – the requirement for choosing a Kazehime.

"Now, the Kazekage's sister happened to know of her brother's predicament, and she wanted him to be happy instead of being forced into a loveless marriage. She was a formidable woman herself, and under the guise of an advanced genjutsu, she entered the Kazehime Trials and came out as the top candidate in all three categories.

"When the senior council declared her winner and the next Kazehime, she dropped her disguise and proclaimed that she could not marry her own brother. She then announced that as she now had the power of the Kazehime, she was free to choose a replacement for herself. Before the senior council could convene over the matter, she invoked her right as the Kazehime and named her brother's beloved as the new Kazehime instead.

"And they lived happily ever after. After the senior council finally took back the kill-order on the Kazekage's sister, of course."

"I don't remember that last part," Kankurou frowned.

"As a kunoichi of Sunagakure, to pull such a stunt would have merited the death penalty," explained Temari, "and I just made that last part up anyway."

Shikamaru rubbed at his chin, then said to Temari, "Whether it is a story or actual history, the moment you appear at the Kazehime Trials with your fan, no genjutsu in the world will disguise you."

There was absolute silence in the tent for a good minute before Kankurou spoke up, "Ok, obviously we cannot try this stunt again because of Temari's huge-ass fan." He looked to Gaara, "How about throwing around some political weight to change the rules of the Kazehime Trials to allow Sakura to enter?"

"That's going to cause a revolt, at least, among the kunoichis," noted Temari.

Kankurou clutched at his head and groaned, "Then what is the point of being the most powerful shinobi in the village if you cannot use it for your own good once in a while?"

"Because I have a responsibility to protect my village, including our way of life," Gaara replied quietly.

All this was starting to seem ridiculous to Shikamaru: here was the Kazekage who literally gave his life for his people, the first man to ever rally all Five Shinobi Nations against a singular threat, and he was going to martyr himself again for the greater good instead of protecting his own happiness; Sakura's happiness.

Shikamaru raised a finger and was about to speak when he sudden struck upon Temari's earlier words. His sudden stiffness of posture drew a concerned look from Temari.

"Shikamaru?" she asked

Shikamaru blinked, and shook his head in an attempt to slow down his thoughts that were running at the speed of light. Lowering his arm, he said to Temari, "Temari-san, tell me again about the qualifications for entering the Kazehime Trials."

Confused, she said, "Well, she obviously has to be a kunoichi, and she has to be in Suna."

"You said 'in' Suna, not 'from' Suna," Shikamaru stated more than asked her.

"Yes, that was what I s…" Temari frowned, then oh so very slowly, her lips began to curl upwards, "Did you just spot a loophole, Shikamaru?"

Gaara's eyes widened as his attention was drawn to the conversation between the two; there was a strange feeling of hope rising from his chest, and he found that he liked it.

Shikamaru leaned against Gaara's desk, fingers clasped over his chin as he pondered the implications of what he had just learnt. If what Temari had said was really true, then it was simply a matter of getting Sakura into Suna at the time of the Kazehime Trials.

But it was still too early to be feeling relieved.

Strangely enough, it was Kankurou who finally gave Shikamaru the reason to stop worrying.

"Guys, I think it's just because Sunagakure is surrounded by an expansive desert, and even though I love my village, you have to admit that it isn't exactly the nicest place to move to if you want to start a new life," Kankurou chanced a glance at Gaara just to make sure he did not offend the Kazekage; elder brother or not, he was not certain if Gaara held him in higher regard than the village's reputation, "So maybe the previous Kazekages married from within the village because there just weren't any visiting kunoichis who wanted to take part in the Trials."

Temari tilted her head, brows knitted as she added, "That is true. And there has never been any reason for other Shinobi Nations to propose a strategic alliance through a political marriage to date. But our little brother here has done the most unimaginable thing to date: he created an alliance between the Five Shinobi Nations against Akatsuki."

Everyone turned to face Gaara, who was now wearing the expression of someone deep in his thoughts.

Finally, he looked up and swept his gaze across the room's occupants before speaking, "We will not change the tradition of Sunagakure."

Temari gave a gasp of disbelief, and Shikamaru's fists were curled as he considered the very unwise decision of attacking the Regimental Leader.

Noting their reactions, Gaara quickly lifted a hand up to ask for silence, then said, "The Kazekage will marry a kunoichi in Sunagakure, so Na… Shikamaru-san, perhaps you can arrange for Sakura to be in Suna in time for the Kazehime Trials?"

Shikamaru paused, blinked once, then settled back into a lazy slouch against Gaara's desk; if there was one thing he disliked about Gaara, it was how he always managed to unsettle him with just words alone.

"I will talk to Hokage-sama and arrange for Sakura to travel to Sunagakure once I receive your orders for her to do so, Kazekage-sama."

"Good," Gaara rose to his feet, showing just the barest signs of strained effort, "I am certain that Sakura does not plan on becoming Kazehime in her immediate future, so let us now focus on the war at hand."

Temari placed her hand on Gaara's shoulder, and quite resolutely toppled him over back into his bed.

"We will help you run the Division for the next two days, Gaara. You, on the other hand, have orders from your girlfriend to rest and recuperate," Temari wagged a finger at him, "You don't want to make Sakura mad, now, do you?"

"Her temper is quite formidable," admitted Gaara.

It was akin to saying that Kabuto was just "a small fry", or Akatsuki was "a speck of dust".

Kankurou coughed into his fist, but it sounded oddly like "masochist" when he did.

"Do you want me to get you some of that tea before we leave?" asked Temari, gesturing to the warming pot on the stove.

Gaara scowled, "Just a cup, Temari. And leave it on my table."

Temari raised an eyebrow at her brother's strange behaviour towards a mere drink, but proceeded to pour him a cup anyway before they all left him to rest.

As the three of them walked out into the sunlight, Kankurou gestured to Shikamaru's feet and said, "Hey, Shikamaru, why is Fluffy still with you?"

Shikamaru looked down, and saw that the purring sand-cat was indeed walking alongside him. When he stopped in his steps, the cat moved in front of him and quietly dropped the piece of orange fabric onto the ground.

The Nara prodigy bent over to pick it up, and uttered a confused-sounding, "Er, thanks?"

The sand-cat swished its tail once, then walked back into the tent.

Shikamaru wondered if the sand-cat was thanking him for helping salvage Gaara and Sakura's future together, but cats are and always would remain a mystery to him.

"So, Shikamaru," Temari began suddenly, her voice a little too light and airy to bode anything good, "When were you going to tell me that you used to date Sakura?"

"WHAT?" Kankurou yelled, "And Gaara didn't murder you for that?"

Noting the number of shinobis glancing in the direction of their little commotion, Shikamaru could only come to one conclusion:

He should have never gotten out of bed that morning.


	28. Chapter 28

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

We shall return to the war shortly. In the meantime, please enjoy this filler :D

* * *

><p>By the time Sakura returned from her day's work alongside Baki, the hour was late. She figured that they must have covered the entire 4th Division camp twice, and the medic base thrice. And that was in addition to their meeting with the War Council to plan their next moves.<p>

She wished that Shikamaru had been with them for the meeting at least – he had a way of compartmentalising information that seemed positively effortless.

What _did_ Gaara wanted to speak to Shikamaru about, anyway?

Sakura had barely noticed her arrival at the entrance of their tent, tired as she was; she almost went right in without signaling her approach before she snapped to her senses and quickly flared her chakra, then waited for Gaara to acknowledge her presence before stepping into the tent.

What she did not expect was for the tent flap to be lifted by Gaara himself, when he should still be resting in bed. Swallowing the reprimand on her tongue, she slipped into the tent and waited for Gaara to close the flap behind them.

When she turned to face Gaara, his appearance still seemed haggard and sluggish. Although his skin had taken on a healthier pallor, he had thrown another set of robes over his own and was holding it around himself with one hand.

"Gaara, are you feeling alright?" There was no way she could chide him when he looked this way.

"That tea, when consumed in large doses, is enough to make the strongest man ill."

Sakura quickly covered her mouth to prevent Gaara from seeing her grin, but his furrowed temples indicated that he did, nonetheless.

Composing herself, she snapped into medic-mode and gestured to Gaara's bed, saying, "Gaara, if you can lie down for a while so I can assess your condition?"

Gaara removed his spare robes and placed them over his chair, instantly drawing Sakura's attention to the stacks of scrolls that had almost buried his desk. She held up a finger, ready to speak, but Gaara beat her to the punch.

"The war efforts over the past week had forced me to push aside my duties to Sunagakure in the meantime. I have to make up for the lost time," explained Gaara.

"Gaara," Sakura raised an eyebrow, "Paperwork is not bed rest. I am going to insist that you turn in after my assessment; let me do the work for you instead. After all, we've been doing your Kage paperwork together for all these months already."

"On one condition."

"I won't touch the politically-sensitive scrolls."

They exchanged knowing smiles, and with a soft sigh of resignation, Gaara laid down on his bed and watched as Sakura stood over him, her hands starting to take on a greenish glow before she placed them just over the top of his head. Her face took on a look of deep concentration as her hands glided downwards over his body, carefully probing his chakra system and watching for any signs of blockage or slower-than-expected recovery.

Gaara's face felt warmer than usual, though he was not certain as to why it was so.

Finally satisfied with her checkup, Sakura clapped her hands together and addressed Gaara, "You're well on your way to full chakra restoration, Gaara. By tomorrow evening, you should be back to your old self once more."

Gaara released the breath that he did not even realise he was holding until now, and turned his head in Sakura's direction to nod his thanks.

"Before I start on the scrolls, do I need to brew mor…"

"No."

Stifling a smile, Sakura turned on her heels and made herself comfortable on her chair at the desk, and promptly began perusing the mountain of scrolls with infinite patience. Gaara watched her for a few more minutes before turning away, his back against her as he stared unblinkingly at the side of the tent; he was not tired enough to sleep. However, if he did not at least pretend to rest, Sakura was going to give him an earful.

For what seemed like hours, the only sounds in the tent was the soft unfurling of the scrolls and Sakura's occasional tap of the brush handle against the desk – a habit that she had picked up to give herself something else to do whenever she came across an especially wordy (and pointlessly so) scroll.

The sound of falling paper stirred Gaara from his mediation, and he had to resist turning around to find out the reason for the noise. Sakura mumbled softly under her breath, sounding frustrated as she shuffled around the table to pick up a pile of assorted scrolls and papers that she had accidentally toppled over while reaching blindly for the next one.

Just as she was replacing the scrolls and papers, Sakura caught sight of a thin paperback book. Having rarely seen Gaara reading anything besides his Kage-related paperwork, she was intrigued by the presence of the book and began to flip through it.

Sakura was engrossed enough to not notice Gaara's form tensing on his bed; he had a very good idea what book it was that Sakura was currently leafing through, and he mentally cursed himself for not putting it away.

The ensuing silence, save for the flipping of pages, created an overbearing tension in the tent that Gaara could not shake.

_Say something, Sakura, _he found himself mentally shouting.

Sakura did one better: she softly closed the book and promptly whisked out of the tent, the only tell-tale sign being the swishing of the tent flap as it fell back into place.

Gaara did not want to jump to undue conclusions, and so used his chakra to probe the tent for Sakura's unique chakra signature. The moment it became clear that Sakura was no longer in the tent, he leapt clear out of bed, throwing off all covers and haphazardly slipped on his footwear before dashing out of the tent, all sense of decorum forgotten.

Once outside, Gaara's sudden appearance startled a few night guards, all of whom quickly bowed and greeted him.

He gave a group of shinobis an acknowledging nod, then asked calmly, "Have you see Haruno-san?"

The night guards looked to one another, as if wondering who should be the one to answer the Regimental Leader.

Gaara deepened his scowl, and one shinobi hurriedly replied, "She was headed towards the camp entrance, Kazekage-sama. She seemed to be in a hurry to get there."

"Thank you." Gaara was already at least two tents away from the group before his words reached them.

He wove his way through the sea of tents and guards, automatically returning their greetings while his mind was preoccupied with the thoughts of only one kunoichi in the world.

When he finally spotted a flash of pink against the darkness of the night, he had to fight against the urge to call out to her. Instead, Gaara quickened his pace and rapidly closed the distance between them.

Sakura spun around at Gaara's unashamedly noisy approach, and the first thing Gaara noticed was the slight shine of wetness in her eyes.

His chest constricted painfully in that instant.

"Come with me, Haruno-san."

Before Sakura even had the chance to open her mouth to speak, Gaara took her by her waist, lifted a hand, and they both vanished from the campsite in a cloud of sand.

* * *

><p>It was no surprise to Sakura that he chose to take her to the cliff ledge where they had returned on several occasions to star-gaze and talk about everything and nothing in particular.<p>

What surprised her was how miserable Gaara looked as he gazed down at her; her eyes betrayed her astonishment, but she quickly willed away the emotion and forced herself to focus on her thoughts.

Still, it almost made her reconsider smacking him for wasting his barely-restored chakra reserves so blatantly.

Almost.

Gaara's sand shield rose in front of him automatically, deflecting Sakura's purposeful but soft punch. She hissed in annoyance as some of the sand scattered, both at her thwarted efforts and the abrasiveness now burning her knuckles. One part of her wanted to continue punching the shield, if just for the sake of having something to hit; the other part of her wanted desperately for the barrier between them to come falling down, in every sense of the word.

The redhead dropped his sand shield and reached for her hand the moment he felt her hesitation, his brows knitted in annoyance.

"You're hurt," he stated, although it was no more than a slight pinking of her skin.

As he dipped his hand to plant soft kisses on her knuckles, Sakura's temper rose once more; she lifted her other hand in preparation to hit him, but Gaara own hand stretched forward and snatched hers in a possessive grasp, his eyes still closed in concentration as he attempted to soothe her stinging hand with his lips.

"Gaara, let go of me!" Sakura did not like how her voice was starting to crack, and she made several half-hearted efforts to break away from his hold. She knew that she could easily do so with a chakra-enhanced punch, but her heart was simply not in it.

Then Gaara drew back, studied her face quietly, and finally leaned in to kiss away the tears forming at the corner of her eyes. But each firm kiss only made her tears flow faster, and finally, Gaara pulled her against his chest in their tightest embrace yet. He gently stroked the back of her head, whispering what Sakura assumed were words meant to comfort while she proceeded to soak his robes with her sobbing.

_This is so stupid. We have barely even dated… There is no reason for me to feel so upset over a future that is so far away… or one that might not even happen.._

Gaara held her for the longest time, waiting for her to stop trembling and her sobs to subside into the occasional hiccup before he gently pushed her back before leaning down to press a kiss to one side of her lips.

"Tell me what is upsetting you," he asked, though he knew very well what was bothering her.

Sakura blinked, and a spark of fury shone in her eyes as she lifted her gaze to meet his, "You knew… you knew all along that we'd have no future together, that we would have to eventually part because you have the obligation to marry from within your village. But you still allowed me to fall for you. This is cruelty, Gaara."

When she turned away and spoke her next words, Gaara felt his heart drop into his stomach.

"We should separate, before we hurt each other further."

Sakura began to form the hand signs for a teleportation jutsu, but Gaara quickly grabbed one of her hand and pulled her around to face him.

His expression was completely, utterly blank.

His eyes, however, had a strange fire in them that Sakura had never witnessed before; she was not certain if it was a good sign or not.

"Sakura," he said, "I don't want you to go."

"But…"

"I am obligated to marry the winner of the Kazehime trials, not a Sunagakure kunoichi," explained Gaara.

Sakura tilted her head in mild confusion, "I didn't think there was a difference between the two."

Gaara decided that his next words had to be chosen carefully, to avoid implicating his siblings and Shikamaru, or worse, getting Sakura mad at him for focusing his attention on matters besides the war at hand.

"According to Suna tradition, the candidate has to be a kunoichi," Sakura resisted rolling her eyes at that statement, "And that she has to apply to be in the Trials."

"… And those are all the requirements?" There was a note of skepticism in Sakura's voice, and Gaara found that he could not blame her; it did seem too simplistic when she put it that way.

Gaara nodded, "But you must have gleaned from the book that very few make it past even the first part of the Trials. In an environment as harsh as the desert, only the strongest bloodlines can survive, so the difficulty of the Trials reflects that."

Sakura pressed a finger to her lips, and Gaara found his eyes drawn to that simple gesture.

Finally, she looked up at him and said, "So in fact, any kunoichi, regardless of Nation affiliation, can apply for the Kazehime Trials."

Gaara nodded once more, but what he did not anticipate was Sakura suddenly blushing as if she had developed a sudden severe allergy reaction, then promptly buried her face into his chest.

Her next words were muffled against his robes, "What makes you think I plan to marry you, or even move to Sunagakure?"

There was no malice in her words – just a hint of confusion, perhaps.

"You were the one trying to end our relationship before it even had a chance to develop by thinking too far ahead," chuckled Gaara, deeply aware that he was guilty of the same thoughts just hours before, "And if you do not wish to leave your home, I can always abdica…"

Sakura pressed her fingers over his lips, anger in her eyes as she hissed, "Don't even suggest giving up what you've worked all your life for, Gaara. Not for me."

Pleasantly surprised at her sudden spirit, Gaara smiled against her fingers and leaned in close to whisper, "Or, I could arrange for the complete relocation of our villages…"

And the image of Gaara transporting the entire village of Sunagakure right into the middle of Konohagakure came just a little too easily to Sakura's mind for her comfort. Or vice-versa, for that matter.

Tsunade-shishou would have _kittens_ if Gaara did anything close to either option.

"Until the war is over – we have all the time and more to consider the future," said Gaara, "But with death at our heels every single moment, we should cherish every moment we have together."

"You don't mean…" Sakura's eyes widened as her mind headed for some very… interesting places.

"Stay with me to watch the stars, Sakura."

"Oh. Of course, Gaara."

Gaara's tiny smirk was a dead giveaway of what he knew Sakura had been thinking of, and for some reason, Sakura did not find herself so ready to strike him this time.

* * *

><p>The fact that the entire 4th Division was abuzz with gossip about the Regimental Leader's not-so-professional relationship with his personal medic did not bother Sakura as much as she thought – she had expected it to intensify ever since the day Gaara stole her away right in front of Matsuri.<p>

There was no denying that she was in a relationship with the Fifth Kazekage, anyway.

What bothered her, though, was the rumour that the Proxy Commander was now a third wheel in their relationship, and the looks some shinobis had shot at her over that. A few kunoichis were more indiscreet with their insults, calling Sakura some rather colourful names for playing two men at the same time.

However, the years of having her forehead size being ridiculed by others and her subsequent friendship with Ino had taught her to let these rumours slide off her back; her conscience was clear, and it was all that mattered.

With her head held high, she made for the location where Shikamaru's chakra signature was emitting from. There were certain matters she wanted to discuss with him, after learning from Gaara that he had figured out her past with Shikamaru. He had mentioned it almost as an afterthought just as she was getting used to the idea of using his chest as a pillow – a mood-killer, to say the least.

Sakura just hoped that Shikamaru's injuries were not beyond her scope.

Shikamaru's chakra signature was taking her in some rather fascinating directions. For some reason, she soon found herself walking into the kunoichi-dominated parts of the camp.

Before she had time to question herself why it was so, a figure emerged from one of the larger tents and into the twilight. The figure was distinctly male, wore his hair up in a slightly disheveled spiky ponytail, seemed a little unsteady on his feet, and went by the name of Nara Shikamaru.

When Shikamaru looked up at her, he blinked once, then harder a second time as if not quite believing his eyes. Sakura in turn simply stood with her arms crossed, studying his form – he was definitely a little frazzled, in both mental and physical senses of the word. At the very least, he did not appear to have been mauled by a sandstorm, though.

Also, is that a lipstick smudge on his cheek?

Before she could speak, Shikamaru raised a hand and uttered solemnly, "For the record, you didn't see anything."

Noticing the beads of nervous perspiration dotting his forehead, and the way Shikamaru was swallowing the very obvious lump his throat, Sakura could not help it – she giggled.

Oh, Sakura knew about Shikamaru's strange on-off relationship with Temari. In fact, she was a little hurt when Shikamaru started seeing Temari soon after they broke up, but once she reminded herself that she had initiated the breakup herself, she could not begrudge Shikamaru's own search for happiness.

Even if that left her moping about and hiding from Shikamaru for the next few weeks; Shikamaru had to corner her to find out why she had been avoiding him. Several hours after that, Shikamaru had thrown his arms up in the air, dramatically declared all women to be utterly confusing, and they parted ways with matching, goofy grins.

"My lips are sealed, Shika-kun," her voice was teasing as she reached up to tap at her own cheek, "But you really should try to keep your own secrets, too."

Shikamaru's eyes widened as comprehension dawned on him. Muttering a low "aw, crap", he mirrored Sakura's hand and tried to get at the lipstick smudge. The only trouble was he kept missing.

That, and he was rubbing at the wrong cheek.

Sighing softly, Sakura took him by the sleeve and tugged him towards the tent that he had come out from, saying, "We better get that cleaned up before you give the Kazekage a real reason to kill you."

Sakura flared her chakra signature on reflex, until it suddenly occurred to her that the tent's occupant might not recognise hers. She was about to turn to Shikamaru to ask him to signal his presence instead when the tent flap was lifted by a tall, blonde kunoichi.

"Sakura?" Temari seemed confused to see Sakura outside her tent, and Sakura quickly let go of Shikamaru's sleeve.

"Temari-san, I was just…"

Temari made a clicking noise with her tongue and said, "Well, are you going to stand out here talking, or do you want to come in?"

The interior of Temari's tent was a little more impoverished than what Sakura had expected as she discreetly scanned her surroundings; she was the Regimental Leader's sister and a ranking officer after all. Instead, Temari had a standard-issue cot, her weapons were piled up in a corner, and her books were sticking haphazardly out of a makeshift bookcase.

"Can I have some tissue, Temari-san?" asked Sakura.

Temari cocked an eyebrow at the strange request, but handed her a box of it from under her cot. Sakura nodded her thanks and turned to Shikamaru with the box held out.

Shikamaru only blinked at her, "I'm going to need a mirror, Sakura."

Temari looked around them and finally noticed what all the fuss was about. With a titter, she plucked a piece of tissue from the box and proceeded to wipe the lipstick mark off Shikamaru's cheek.

"You're rubbing my face off, woman!" Shikamaru tried to pull away from Temari's grip on his arm.

"Then don't be in such a hurry to run off after making out, jerk!"

Sakura had the distinct feeling that she should not be around for this conversation, and started to slip away in the direction of the tent flap. Unfortunately, Temari saw what she was attempting to do and paused in her tormenting of Shikamaru to gesture to Sakura.

"Hang on, Sakura. I want to talk to you."

And really, that statement should not have sounded as ominous as it did, but Sakura supposed Shikamaru's look of horror had something to do with it.

With no other option available to her, Sakura stayed stock-still where she stood while Temari continued to scrub away at her boyfriend's cheek.

When she was done, Shikamaru looked as if he had been sunburnt on one side of his face. Satisfied with her handiwork, Temari tossed the used tissue away and went to pull up two chairs hidden behind the bookcase.

"Make yourselves comfortable. I'll find us something to drink," said Temari.

Shikamaru and Sakura exchanged looks, a barrage of questions running through their heads. Was Temari about to grill them over their past relationship? How much did she know of Sakura's dating history with Shikamaru? Was she going to quietly assassinate them and bury their bodies?

By the time Temari turned around with a small flask and three glasses, Sakura and Shikamaru had turned to stone in their seats.

Temari rolled her eyes and said, "I'm not going to commit homicide or anything, you two. So will you please relax already? I just wanted to talk about Gaara. Shikamaru already told me about the two of you, and since I know you won't want to break my little brother's heart by trying to rekindle anything with Shikamaru, you need to stop worrying that I'll pull out my fan on you, Sakura."

_Why did Temari's reassurance sounded more like a threat…?_

Sakura forced herself to smile as she spoke, "Of course, Temari-san. I know Shikamaru is quite enamoured with you, and I am happy to be with Gaara."

Temari paused in her act of filling the glasses and turned to Sakura, her lips pulled down in a small scowl, "Sakura, you are dating my brother. There is no need for honourifics between us, not even when I am his elder sister."

Temari then handed them each a glass of light greenish drink. Shikamaru downed it without even blinking, so Sakura followed suit.

The next thing she knew, she was coughing up a storm while Temari guffawed and Shikamaru smirked.

"Temari-s… Temari! You didn't say it was alcohol!" Sakura squeaked out between coughs.

"Ah, but you didn't ask," grinned the blonde as she held up her own glass in a mock salute.

"I'm underage!"

"So am I."

"We all are, Sakura. But why worry about that when we may not live to be twenty?" said Shikamaru.

"Ever the pessimist, Shikamaru," Temari shook her head despite the smile on her lips, "We are going to win this war, so I'm calling this an early celebration."

"To winning the war," Shikamaru raised his glass.

"To the victory of the Allied Shinobi Forces," added Sakura.

"And… to the end of my brother's virgin days," grinned Temari, causing Sakura once more choke on her drink.

It was hard to tell if the blush on Sakura's cheeks was due to the alcohol, or Temari's toast.

"Temari," sighed Shikamaru, "Your sense of humour leaves a lot to be desired."

"You're dating me, Shikamaru, not my sense of humour. Deal."

Sakura was able to speak up once she regained use of her vocal cords, "Temari, I… we're both not ready for that step. We have only just started dating a few days ago."

Temari's eyes widened in pure surprise.

"You have got to be kidding me. So many months under the same tent, sleeping just metres away from my brother, and you guys only _just_ started dating? Does Gaara do something unattractive like snore or something?"

Realising the turn in the conversation, Shikamaru decisively placed his glass on a nearby table and walked out of the tent without another word.

He did not want to be anywhere near the presence of Girl Talk.

Both kunoichis had turned to watch Shikamaru's exit. When Sakura returned to meet Temari's gaze, she was surprised to see how serious Temari's expression had become.

"Sakura, I don't know if you are aware of it, but this is Gaara's first romantic relationship. We both know that Gaara is not a frivolous person, so I expect that he is courting you with the full intention of pursuing a future together with you."

Sakura settled the glass on her lap and held her head high as she replied, "Temari-san, I hope you're not implying that I am not serious about my relationship with Gaara."

"I don't know, Sakura. Are you?"

"We respect each other, and we accept each other, faults and all. I know you are worried that Gaara and I may be getting in over our heads because of our close proximity and the war hanging over our heads, just as Tsunade-shishou did," Sakura touched one hand to her chest, "But I know that what I feel here is real.

"Neither of us rushed into this. As you have said so yourself, we've only just started dating despite having lived in close quarters for so long. If this was some hormonal-driven relationship, I don't think we even need more than a few days together.

"I love Gaara," there was conviction in Sakura's eyes when she uttered those words, and the steadiness of her own voice startled her a little, "I don't know what the future holds for us because of this war and our lives as shinobis, but at the very least, I can tell you that I will be by his side as long as he wants me to."

Temari continued to stare at Sakura for the longest time, then she did something completely unexpected – she made a gagging expression.

Sakura reared back a little, blinking.

"You know, Sakura, all I wanted to know is that you are serious about dating my brother, not a speech about undying love," Temari grinned, "At least I can rest easy now and not worry that Gaara will blow up the village because the two of you want different things out of this relationship."

"… Oh."

Did that mean that Gaara was being absolutely, positively serious about the Kazehime Trials? And her moving to Sunagakure eventually?

"By the way," Temari's tone suggested that what she was about to say was anything but an afterthought, "Have you thought about what to give Gaara for his birthday? It's coming up in about two weeks."

Panic flinted across Sakura's face briefly as she replied, "I… I'm really not sure about that. It's not as if I can go shopping for a birthday present, or make him something with a war going on around us."

"Well, I have an idea."

"Please share," Sakura leaned forward unconsciously.

"We'll just wrap you up in ribbons and toss you two someplace private!" Temari clapped her hands together as if she had just formulated The Greatest Plan in the World.

Sakura looked so scandalised that Temari was now certain that Shikamaru had not lied to her when he said that he was never physically involved with Sakura.

"I was just kidding," Temari smiled, but her suggestively lifted eyebrows indicated otherwise.

It suddenly occurred to Sakura that if she did end up marrying Gaara, Temari would be her sister-in-law, and these little 'jokes' would become a part of her life.

Sakura really needed to learn how to stop blushing so much.

* * *

><p>The hour was late by the time Sakura emerged from Temari's tent, so she was surprised to find Shikamaru still milling about. Or more accurately, he was lying on a pile of hay bales, a stalk of grass between his lips as he gazed up at the moon-lit skies.<p>

"Shikamaru? Why are you still here?" Sakura asked.

The Nara prodigy rolled over on his side to face her, then leapt down before replying, "Just waiting for you two to finish talking, so I can walk you back."

Sakura placed both hands on her hips, annoyed as she said, "I'm a kunoichi, Shikamaru. I don't need an escort back to my tent, thank you very much."

_Troublesome._

"You may not _need_ an escort, Sakura, but as the Proxy Commander, it is only common courtesy that I escort the Regimental Leader's girlfriend back safely," Shikamaru did not sound too excited by the prospects of what he had to do; even if he and Gaara had come to some sort of an understanding of his past with Sakura, Shikamaru knew jealousy was an emotion with no logic behind it.

"Say that a little louder, won't you, Shika-kun?" Sakura hissed as she glanced about, searching for any eaves-dropping shinobis.

"Relax, Sakura. The speculations have already gone far beyond the assumption that you and Kazekage-sama are sleeping together."

Sakura had never been a fan of idle gossip, and she was not about to become one now; it would probably be better for her sanity if she knew less about what the other shinobis were thinking about her and Gaara's relationship.

They walked side-by-side back towards Gaara's tent – Shikamaru with his hands tucked into his pockets as he looked more at the sky than where he was walking, and Sakura casting the occasional glance at him.

Finally, she said, "You know, the rumours about you and me are getting quite obnoxious."

"Tell me about it," Shikamaru muttered around the stalk of grass, "It is going to get even messier once word gets out that I am seeing the Kazekage's sister."

Sakura paused in her footsteps, and Shikamaru ended up walking ahead of her for several paces before he turned around to shoot her a quizzical look.

"Sakura?"

Sakura shook her head to clear her thoughts, then jogged up to Shikamaru, ducking her head as she coyly asked, "So, you two are finally going to make it official?"

Was Shikamaru blushing just before he turned his head slightly…?

"Yeah, we are. Temari wanted to know exactly where she stood with me after she learnt about our past, so I told her the truth."

Ah. The Truth.

Sakura smiled sadly at his reply, and Shikamaru was quick to notice it.

"Sakura…" he began.

"It's alright, Shikamaru. I'm just sorry that I held you back from a relationship with Temari-san for so long," her reply came a little too fast, too lightly.

They continued the rest of their walk in uncomfortable silence. When they finally arrived at Gaara's tent, Sakura was the first to speak.

"Thank you for having been there for me in those two years, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru smiled, then reached out to flick her on the nose. Sakura yelped in surprise and indignation.

"We were both too young to have made it work, anyway," Shikamaru replied, then he tilted his head in the direction of the tent, "Better go back inside now. You have a long day ahead of you."

Sakura had to fight back the familiar urge to embrace Shikamaru, and settled for a wave of goodbye before ducking into the tent.

Gaara was sitting at his desk when she entered the tent, a scroll opened in front of him. Upon seeing her, he immediately rose from his seat and crossed the short distance between them.

"Welcome back."

Not "I was worried", or "where have you been" – because he trusted her to be able to look after herself; trusted her heart to lead her back to him.

"I am home."

Tucking herself into Gaara's tightening embrace, Sakura realised how right her answer was.


	29. Chapter 29

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

I apologise for the slow updates. I wish to extend my thanks to all reviewers, especially those who take the time to write long, thoughtful reviews that remind me that there are still people reading this fanfic.

Without them, I probably would have stopped updating :)

* * *

><p>Their situation could only be referred to as an impasse.<p>

Since the elimination of the Four Resurrected Kages, the Allied Shinobi Forces have been trying to make a push towards the Akatsuki headquarters. The only problem was, their north-western movements were constantly held up by a seemingly endless wave of White Zetsu clones.

Several smaller units of shinobis were deployed in hopes that they might be able to break past the wall of clones, under the assumption that they would be able to move with more stealth.

Not a single report came back from any of the units sent.

Kankurou volunteered to lead his Ambush Squad into enemy territory, but the idea was immediately dismissed by both Gaara and Shikamaru – it was simply too risky a move to take. Upon hearing the rejection of his plan, Kankurou had put on his biggest Bambi eyes and cooed to Gaara about how wonderful it felt to be fussed over by the Regimental Leader.

Kankurou shortly re-appeared in a cloud of sand right in the middle of the crowded mess hall and landed face-first onto a full table.

Each day of the stalemate made Gaara's scowls a little deeper and his temper a little shorter. Unwilling to let his frustrations affect Sakura, Gaara re-assigned her back to the medic base. Sakura in turn understood the gesture and did not broach any war-related topics during their nightly chats thereafter.

It was on one partially cloudy day of no particular consequences when Sakura received her first private summons from the War Council. She was in the medic base, attending to some shinobis fresh from the frontlines when the tiny version of Katsuyu suddenly popped out of her collar and whispered the orders into her ear.

Surprised by this summons that seemed to have came out of nowhere, Sakura excused herself from her medic-nin colleagues and teleported herself to the entrance of the War Council building; there was no urgency in Katsuyu's voice, but to be called away by the Tsunade herself had to mean something, especially since Tsunade knew how thin Sakura had been spreading herself.

Being a familiar face to the guards, Sakura was promptly escorted towards some waiting sensor shinobis, all of whom deemed her acceptable for entrance into the building equally quickly.

Escorted by another two guards, Sakura passed along the dark corridors, emerged into the light of the main hall, and saw three completely unexpected but friendly faces.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," Kakashi gave her his close-eyed smile and a wave of his hand, as if they had only just parted a few days ago when in reality, Sakura had not seen her former teacher since the war began.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura could barely hide the tone of surprise in her voice, and then she turned to the other two familiar faces as her brows furrowed, "Gai-sensei, Lee-kun. Why are you all here?"

"Don't you miss us, Sakura-chan?" Kakashi clutched at his chest and sighed as if physically wounded, "Have you completely forgotten about us fighting on the frontli…"

Sakura quickly closed the distance between them and glared at Kakashi defiantly, her voice dropping low as she replied, "I would have been on the frontlines as a field medic, Kakashi-sensei, if it weren't for my last-minute reassignment. I would never choose to stay behind when I could be saving more lives on the battlefield."

Completely nonplussed, Kakashi looked at the glowering kunoichi and patted her softly on her head, nodding as he said, "Of course, Sakura. I trust that you are enjo… I mean, managing your new assignment well?"

"Ah, Sakura-san!" Lee spoke up, unknowingly saving Kakashi from a chakra-infused punch, "I've heard that you're now Gaara-san's personal medic. And on top of that, you were in the Ambush Squad and you pull shifts at the medic base. Please, please don't overwork yourself! You have enough on your plate as it is!"

Sakura nodded her thanks, blushing slightly.

"Is everyone here?"

The four shinobis turned towards the direction of the approaching figure – the imposing Fifth Hokage herself as she made a beeline for their small group.

"Tsunade-sama."

"Tsunade-shishou."

It would do no good to ask why she was summoned to the War Council building for now – Tsunade would tell her in time. Said woman swept her eyes over the group, then tilted her head towards a door on the other side of the huge room.

"Kakashi, Sakura, I want to speak to the both of you privately," came the cryptic command.

Sakura turned to Kakashi in askance, but the man simply shrugged and followed after Tsunade into the adjoining room. She turned to nod her departure to Lee and Gai, then trotted after her former teacher.

The room which they had entered was minimalistic in both its design and furnishings. Aside from a table and a single chair tucked under it, there was little else that caught Sakura's eye. What did catch her attention, however, was the slight hum of chakra enveloping the room.

Sakura looked to Tsunade, whom knew what she was wondering about and gave her the answer directly – "Chakra-based sound barrier, Sakura. This is far more advanced than what the Kazekage has around his tent."

Which meant she was about to learn something that she would not like; Sakura knew that much.

She was, in fact, reminded of an interrogations room for some reason.

"This is a lot of secrecy, Tsunade-shishou," Sakura said at last, "You have summoned me for what I assume will be a covert mission; there are enough of us to make a four-man team with me as the compulsory medic-nin. And if that is the case, shouldn't Gai-sensei and Lee-kun be in here as well?"

Tsunade and Kakashi traded slightly uncomfortable looks, and it was almost as if they didn't know how to broach the topic with Sakura at all.

"Shishou…"

"Sakura," Tsunade's solemn expression gave Sakura pause, "What I am about to tell you will be secrets about Konohagakure that only a handful of people know of. This is going to change your perspective of the Uchiha Massacre and Sasuke's abandonment."

Blazing green eyes turned toward the oddly calm, silver-haired man – "And Kakashi-sensei knew about this already?"

"It's not what you think, Sakura. Kakashi, Yamato and Naruto knew about before the Fourth Shinobi War was even considered a possibility, but they had no way of verifying the truth in what they had learnt until only yesterday," said Tsunade.

"What happened yesterday that changed everything?" Sakura had trouble keeping the anger out of her voice.

"Uchiha Itachi is alive, and is back to fighting on our side – as he always had been."

Sakura opened her mouth, paused, then promptly clamped it shut. Tsunade could only sigh at the look of utter confusion on her apprentice's face.

"Naruto and Killer Bee ran into Nagato and Itachi several hours ago. Without going into too many unnecessary details, Itachi was restored to his former self mentally through a trigger that he had implanted in Naruto before his death at the hands of Sasuke. Itachi had intel that the jinchuurikis killed by Akatsuki have been resurrected and are going to try and capture the Kyuubi.

"This is why we are organising this four-man team to follow Naruto's trail and provide any assistance possible. Naruto and Killer Bee may be a force to be reckoned with by themselves, but against six former jinchuurikis, we want to give them all the advantage they can get.

"As you know, sending an army after them is impossible because of the White Zetsus currently holding us back, so I have decided to put together this team to aid Naruto."

Sakura's hands were clenched together when she finally spoke, head hung and her voice barely above a whisper – "Tell me about the Uchiha Massacre. Tell me everything about Uchiha Itachi's side of the story. Tell me why… we should trust him. Most importantly, tell me why you have waited until now to give me this information."

"Sakura," Tsunade's voice softened, "I didn't want to believe Kakashi at first when he told me about it, but I sent a message back to Konohagakure and had an elite ANBU team retrieve some highly-classified village documents and then had them sent to me. I needed to be absolutely certain of the atrocities our own senior council has ordered Itachi to perform."

Sakura could feel the bile rising in her throat. She covered her mouth and mentally told herself not to throw up; any documents sealed with such high secrecy that only the best ANBU team could retrieve meant a massive political outfall if it should be exposed.

"The Uchiha Massacre… was masterminded by the senior council members, and chiefly by Danzo. Uchiha Itachi was given a direct order to kill his entire clan because his clan was planning a rebellion. He failed in his mission when he could not bring himself to kill his only brother, so with the Third Hokage's knowledge, he went undercover as a double agent for Konohagakure to get information on the then newly-formed organisation Akatsuki. It was both to get him out of the village, as well as to ensure the safety of Sasuke – to let the senior council know that Itachi was now among the most dangerous internationally-wanted criminals and could move against them if they were to harm Sasuke."

"Are you telling me that the Third Hokage authorized these… atrocities?" Sakura had to struggle to find the right word to use, but it was the best her overworked nerves could come up with for now.

Tsunade was quick to shake her head, "On the contrary, it seems the documents only bore the stamps of Danzo, Homura and Koharu."

Conspiracies within conspiracies.

"We know that Madara had told Sasuke about Itachi's work as a double-agent, and he somehow manipulated Sasuke into thinking that eliminating the key political figures of Konohagakure was the best way to avenge his brother," added Kakashi, "Sasuke's attack on Danzo during the Kage Summit was mostly like pre-mediated by Madara, and given the tight timeframe between then and Itachi's death, Sasuke might not have considered his course of action as much as he should have."

It would explain Sasuke's reckless attempt on Danzo's life in the presence of no less than the five strongest shinobis of the land. That the other four Kages were caught in the crossfire, was the one surefire way to start a war among the Shinobi Nations. It was the spark Madara needed to begin his Eye of the Moon plan.

What Akatsuki and Kabuto did not account for was a strategic alliance among the Five Shinobi Nations. That was the only miscalculation in their plan.

But that was not what Sakura was preoccupied with currently.

_The Konohagakure senior council manipulated Uchiha Itachi into becoming an internationally-wanted criminal, orphaning Sasuke in the process._

_Itachi manipulated Sasuke – goaded him into seeking limitless power – so that Sasuke might be the one to restore the Uchiha name to its former glory by letting Sasuke take his life._

_Orochimaru manipulated Sasuke into almost killing his own former teammates by convincing him that he only needed his own power to defeat Itachi._

_Itachi manipulated Sasuke into killing him, so that Sasuke may finally find peace, except that Madara had to tell Sasuke the truth about the Uchiha Massacre and destroy all of Itachi's planning._

_Madara manipulated Sasuke into joining Akatsuki and had him attack the Hachibi – thereby causing an international incident and the calling for a Kage Summit._

_Sasuke was further manipulated into thinking that the Kage Summit was his best chance to avenge Itachi by killing Danzo, only to end up dragging the other Shinobi Nations into what would have been a quarrel between just Kumogakure and Konohagakure._

_Manipulations, manipulations, manipulations!_

And that was when Sakura's knees buckled and she fell onto all fours on the ground, alternating between dry-heaving and choked coughs. Kakashi was ready to bend down to comfort her, but Tsunade held him back, shaking her head subtly.

When Sakura finally spoke up, her voice was a mere whisper, "Sasuke lost his entire clan, Naruto lost his best friend, and now the entire world is at war… all because of a scheme _within_ our own Nation?"

"Yes," Tsunade's reply was straight to the point and utterly professional; she did not want to inject any more emotions into an already volatile situation.

"Why are you telling me all these now, shishou?" The anger in Sakura's voice would have been more impressive if it had not been interrupted by her coughs.

Tsunade heaved a sigh, "Because I know you will find out eventually that Itachi was Naruto's informant, and I don't want you to go into battle with any doubts. Even if you are no longer interested in a future with Sasuke, I know you well enough to know that you still bear a grudge against Itachi for having taken your teammate away from you."

Sakura only had half a mind to notice the slightly raised eyebrows that Kakashi sent her way over the "future" comment that Tsunade made as he finally decided to ignore the Hokage's orders and help Sakura up anyway.

She was not quite a dead weight, but Sakura's limbs felt heavy and unresponsive when Kakashi helped her to her feet. Noticing this, Kakashi quietly moved her towards the chair and settled her down on it.

Tsunade took one look at Sakura's blank expression and said to no one in particular, "We should go brief Gai and Lee on the mission."

Sakura barely registered the soft click of the door as Kakashi and Tsunade left the room; left her mind to try and process everything she had learnt in the past ten minutes.

* * *

><p>Gaara had been bothered by a sense of discomfort in his stomach since early that afternoon; he was quite certain that it was not a case of indigestion, as he had not consumed anything particularly out of the ordinary.<p>

Still, he found his mind preoccupied by the unsettling feeling, and he had to force himself to finish his troops review with his ranking officers. If his men had noticed anything off about his demeanor, none of them mentioned it out loud.

Shikamaru, however, did give him a quizzical look as Gaara left for his tent. Gaara would not put it past his second-in-command to notice something amiss, given the amount of time that they had spent together discussing the war; he was the Regimental Leader, and he felt guilty for being distracted from his duties – it probably showed in his body language.

Still, he forced himself to walk on as if the only weight on his shoulders was that of the war; no more, no less.

What bothered Gaara more was how the sand cat dashed up to him the moment he entered the tent and began winding itself around his legs, purring a little too loudly for it to be calming – Mun usually ignored him and only ran to Sakura for attention.

This oddity, coupled with the uneasiness he felt, led to one immediate train of thought:

_I need to see Sakura._

Gaara looked down at the sand cat just as it lifted its head, and he was startled by the brilliant green eyes that were gazing back at him.

They looked _just_ like Sakura's eyes.

Gaara knew there and then what he had to do. Nodding to the sand cat, he lifted his hand to summon a cloud of sand and transported them both to the medic base. He tried to pinpoint his arrival to the source of Sakura's chakra signature, but it somehow eluded him.

So Gaara did the next best thing – he decided to look for someone who would know where Sakura was.

Abruptly, he transported them directly to the location of Shizune's chakra signature, which would explain why the frazzled brunette had shrieked in surprise and knocked over two piles of medical records when she suddenly found a redhead and a cat standing in front of her.

"Kazekage-sama!" Shizune took a moment to compose herself, "Can you _please_ go through the proper clearance when you visit the medic base? We still have to worry about a possibility of enemy infiltration!"

"I apologise, Shizune-san, but I was trying to locate Haruno-san on the medic base and I could not find her chakra signature at all. Can you tell me where she is?" Gaara's tone was calm and professional to avoid further agitating the already angry head medic.

Which was probably why Shizune was still too undignified by the sudden intrusion to notice that Gaara's folded arms were held just a little too tightly.

"Sakura was called away to the War Council," came the clipped reply as Shizune began to pick up the files.

Gaara quickly moved over and started helping her as well – a gesture that was demeaning for a Kage – and Shizune would have protested if Gaara did not interrupt her by asking why Sakura was summoned.

"I'm afraid I'm not privy to that information, Kazekage-sama. She was summoned through Katsuyu-sama, and naturally I had to let her leave."

Gaara's hand paused and hovered over a file for a fraction of a second, then he picked up the file and stood up. He replaced it on the table and said his thanks to Shizune before walking out of her tent, the sand-cat close behind.

In itself, there was nothing unusual for Sakura to receive private summons from the War Council; she was one of the higher-ranking shinobis in the war, given her position as the Regimental Leader's personal medic.

What was unusual was the channel through which the summons came – a summon through Tsunade's slug meant that it was a direct order from the Hokage herself rather than a summons by the War Council members. That implied that Sakura had been called up for Konohagakure-related matters.

Or a secret mission.

This was a war – Sakura getting called away for a mission by her own Kage was not unheard of.

But it did not mean that Gaara liked the idea of it.

He was gone in another cloud of sand before more than a dozen shinobis had registered his presence at the medic base that day.

* * *

><p>If it was not for the fact that the War Council building was fortified against all teleportation jutsus, Gaara would have chosen to arrive in the main hall. He arrived a short walking distance away from the building, and his sudden appearance startled the nearby patrolling shinobis – mostly because one moment they were looking at a stretch of empty road, and the next, there was a single man standing in front of them.<p>

Well, one man and a cat.

"K… Kazekage-sama!" One shinobi recovered first, "We were not informed of your arrival!"

Gaara nodded to them, then said, "I'm here on my own accord. I understand my personal medic has been summoned by the War Council, and I wish to speak to her."

Unable to (and not stupid enough to) refuse the Kazekage, the patrolling shinobis ushered him towards the building, where some equally surprised sensor shinobis cleared him in a timeframe that Gaara deemed far too long.

He brisk-walked confidently towards the main hall, and the accompanying shinobis did their best to not appear to be struggling to keep up.

Tsunade was the first to recognise the approaching footfalls.

"Kazekage-sama?" Tsunade said aloud, and a moment later, said man appeared at the entrance of the main hall.

The accompanying shinobis bowed and discreetly slipped away to catch their breath.

Gaara had his arms folded behind him, and he held himself with all the nobility of a Kage. The effect was ruined, however, by the sight of the sand-cat circling Gaara while purring and brushing against his leg ever so often.

"Hokage-sama," Gaara bowed slightly to the woman, then turned to Lee, "Lee-san."

Lee snapped to attention and looked on the verge of saluting to Gaara when he replied, "Gaar… Kazekage-sama! This is most unexpected!"

Tsunade had earlier made it clear that no one else was likely to interrupt their mission briefing, as the Raikage was away in one of the other rooms going over some documents. The Intelligence Division was secluded away in another wing of the building, which should have given them sufficient privacy.

Clearly, Gaara's arrival was never accounted for, nor expected.

Squaring his shoulders, Gaara uttered almost tonelessly, "Where may I find Haruno-san?"

Everyone exchanged looks; Tsunade and Kakashi in particular were not keen on telling Gaara where Sakura was, as she might still be trying to cope with all the new information they had given her. To send Gaara to see a distraught Sakura would only make the situation messier than it already was.

Gaara, though, had already cast out his chakra to locate Sakura's unique signature, and within moment, he was marching towards the room where Kakakshi and Tsunade had left her.

Kakashi stepped in front of Gaara, a strange glint in his eyes as he looked down at the younger man. Oh, he had heard all the rumours about the Regimental Leader and his personal medic, and Kakashi was not someone to listen to idle gossip. But witnessing now the fierce determination in Gaara's eyes to reach Sakura, and noting the absence of his stony political mask, Kakashi had no trouble putting two-and-two together.

"Kazekage-sama," Kakashi said, "Sakura is indeed in that room, but I should tell you first that she might not want to receive any visitors now."

"I will take my chances, Hatake-san."

Seeing that there was no dissuading Gaara, Kakashi smoothly stepped aside to let him pass.

Gaara opened the door slightly and held onto the doorknob, just in case Sakura really did not want any visitors as Kakashi had implied. When no one yelled at him from inside or hurled any furniture at him, he decided that it was alright to enter the room.

Sakura's bright pink hair stood out against the stark dullness of the room, but that was not that only thing that caught Gaara's attention – her posture was somewhat slumped, and from her lack of reaction to his presence, he was wondering if she even knew that she was no longer alone in the room.

Gaara decided to test his assumptions by clearing his throat softly; Sakura practically leapt off her chair and onto her feet as if stung by a dozen hornets.

"Kazekage-sama! Forgive me for not noticing you sooner."

Of course she had to address him formally while the door was still open, so Gaara closed the door, and sealed it shut with his sand for good measure. It was a subtle gesture that did not escape Sakura's notice.

"There is a sound barrier, Gaara," Sakura felt as if she was stating the obvious.

"Is everything alright, Sakura?" Gaara asked a little too casually.

It was a calculated move on his part – Gaara knew that if his tone of voice did not match his words, it would always throw Sakura for a loop (more than it did to others, for some reason). He could clearly see that she was troubled by something, and the last thing he wanted was for her to try to hide it or worse, brush it off.

Sakura's eyes widened before she regained her calm, "I… What makes you say that, Gaara? Don't I look fine to you?"

Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow at her appearance – Sakura still had a haunted look in her eyes that betrayed whatever confidence she was trying to exude.

Knowing that their privacy was guarded, Gaara walked over to Sakura, slipped an arm around her waist, and in one deft move, sat down on the chair with Sakura now cradled on his lap.

It took Sakura a moment longer to realise what had just happened, but when she felt Gaara's hand curling around the back of her head and pressing her forehead against the crook of his neck, she did the one thing she did best: she turned as pink as the colour of her hair.

He was holding her like she was his most precious possession, and it scared Sakura a little.

"Sakura," Gaara's voice seemed to rumble from his chest, which Sakura had been subconsciously clinging onto, "I am scared."

Completely caught off guard by his words, Sakura pushed herself backwards so she could look at his face, and she was surprised by the knot of worry above the bridge of his nose.

"Why?" She whispered.

"I know you are going on a secret mission – Hokage-sama has assembled quite a team outside, and you are obviously going to join them as the compulsory medic-nin; that you are a kunoichi capable enough to be entrusted with a stealth mission only makes me more afraid for your safety," he looked into her eyes as he spoke, baring his soul through his words, "But I know I cannot hold you back from your duty to your Nation, so just promise me you will be safe."

Her duty to Konohagakure… her homeland which she had just learnt terrible secrets about…

It was all Sakura could do to not open the floodgates and tell Gaara everything that she had just learnt about her village and how her own people started the chain of events that had led to the Fourth Shinobi War – she was a Konohagakure kunoichi, and she had to guard the secrets of her village with her life. Tsunade had trusted her – a mere apprentice – with such terrible information that it could destroy the Alliance.

Sakura really did not want to think about that now – she needed all her wits around her for the upcoming mission.

"Gaara, you don't need to be afraid for me. I will be with my genin teacher, and I know my duty as a medic is to avoid harm to myself so I can provide ample assistance to my team," Sakura smiled gently, "I'm grateful for your concern, though. Very much so."

He pressed a kiss against her cheek, and whispered in her ear, "If the Kazekage does not care for his future Kazehime, then what sort of a man is he?"

There was no teasing tone in his voice at all – just pure, voracious honesty.

Sakura was the one to make the first move – her eyelids fluttered close as she angled her head towards Gaara's, and he understood the gesture immediately.

His lips were so warm against her own, as were his arms wrapped around her, holding her impossibly close. Sakura tried to suppress a gasp when Gaara's teeth grazed against her lower lip, but failed miserably. The sound she made was enough to give Gaara pause as he pulled back to study her, watchful for any signs of having hurt her.

"I… It's okay, Gaara," Sakura muttered, blushing, "I liked that."

It was all the encouragement he needed to dive back in and kiss her senseless; it was exactly what she needed.

When they finally stopped to calm their bodies down, Sakura pressed herself close to Gaara's chest once more, her fingers spread over his heart and letting the steady drumming soothe her. Gaara's long fingers were smoothing out Sakura's slightly messy hair, the gesture reassuring her along with his masculine presence.

"Sakura," Gaara looked down at her other hand that was clinging onto his sleeve, "Is something else bothering you?"

The answer was right there in the blazing green of her eyes, but Sakura could only look away after a heartbeat, shaking her head as she did so.

"I learnt something about our village today. Something terrible. I…"

Gaara quickly pressed a finger to her lips.

"Sakura, every shinobi village has its secrets and inner workings. That is the reason why the politically-sensitive scrolls are seen only by the eyes of a Kage. You do not have to tell me anything that you're not comfortable with sharing."

Shame filled Sakura's face – she had almost let slip the secrets that her Hokage had deemed her worthy of being entrusted with. But at the same time, she so very desperately wanted to talk to someone about them.

As if reading her mind, Gaara said, "You have many people who care for you, Sakura. Surely at least one of them knows of these matters and you can speak to them freely about it.

"I wish I could share your burden, but you know as well as I do that the secrets of a Hidden Village must be protected even at the cost of one's life. That is the pitfall of our relationship – we will always have some secrets we can never share with each other."

Sakura muttered against his clothes, "I wish it didn't have to be like that – holding secrets from each other. I want to tell you all my thoughts and let you make me forget everything."

Gaara was so surprised by her words that he almost let go of her, and Sakura would have landed in an ungainly heap on the floor. Fortunately, he quickly tightened his hold around her waist instead.

"I beg your pardon?" Gaara could feel heat rising in his cheeks.

Sakura was confused by his puzzlement, wore out as she was with her information overload, so it did not occur to her how suggestive her choice of words were until she had said them out loud.

"Oh, OH!" Sakura clapped her hands to her own cheeks and leaned backwards in horror, "Oh, stars, I didn't mean it that way! I meant, I wish I could un-learn what Tsunade-shishou had told me! I wasn't implying that I wanted… I mean, Gaara, you're attractive, but right now… oh, stars. Oh, _stars_!"

Gaara supposed an embarrassed, panicking Sakura was better than a gloomy one. His almost cocky smirk had Sakura's attention, and she was suddenly filled with a strange urge to smack it off his face.

"It's not funny, Gaara," she pouted.

"I agree that the circumstances for such activities isn't ideal right now," Alright, Gaara was _definitely_ teasing her, "But these thoughts should help push aside your previous ones for the time being."

Sakura hated it when other people were right, but it was true – her mortification was so great now that she did not even want to think about Tsunade's earlier words; she simply wanted to get the idea of sex with Gaara out of her traitorous mind.

So she buried her face into Gaara's robes, and screamed with unbridled humiliation.

When she finally regained her breath, she looked up at Gaara, her face still red from her screaming fit, "Trust you to notice all my Freudian Slips."

Gaara smirked, and was about to reply when someone rapped at the door, almost too softly to be heard.

The sand jamming the door shut must have muffled the sound of the knocking, too.

"Sakura," it was Kakashi, "We are going to move out soon. Pack up and be ready to meet back here at 15:00 hour."

It was like a splash of cold reality on the two shinobis, and Gaara moved to help Sakura onto her feet.

Sakura wondered how much time had passed outside.

"I have one request, Sakura."

Sakura turned to Gaara, her head tilted in askance.

Gaara gestured to the sand-cat that was sleeping under the chair – Sakura had failed to notice Mr. Fluffly-kins all this while.

"Mr. Fluffly-kins!" She reached for the sand-cat, and it blinked sleepily at her before stretching lazily.

Cuddling the sand-cat to her chest, she prompted Gaara, "You were saying, Gaara?"

If the sand-cat was a mere animal, why was it looking so smug settled against Sakura's chest…?

Shaking that odd thought of out his head, Gaara replied, "I'd like you to take Mun with you on this mission. I understand that you and Mun have certain fighting tactics you use together, and Mun can also take the form of a shield to protect you if necessary."

Sakura wanted to protest, but she knew she was obligated to take the sand-cat with her; not only was Gaara correct about the sand-cat's ability to assist her in combat, she had also made him do the same thing when he went to battle against his father. It would give Gaara the same peace of mind that it gave her.

"Alright," she nodded, and placed the sand-cat on the floor, "I hope it's not a slight on my abilities as a kunoichi, Gaara."

The lilt, teasing tone in her voice made Gaara smile.

It was almost as if everything was alright once more.

"Mun," Gaara looked down at the sand-cat, "I am entrusting Sakura to you."

The sand-cat simply rubbed its face against Sakura's legs, purring.

Gaara supposed that was good enough an answer.

He then returned his attention to Sakura, "You should hurry back to our tent and pack."

"Of course."

What Sakura did not expect was for Gaara to close the distance between them to press a kiss to her cheek, entwining their fingers at the same time.

"Hurry back safely," he said, before moving to kiss her on her slightly parted lips.

Gaara did his best to ignore the loudly (and angrily) purring sand-cat that was trying to shove itself between Gaara and Sakura's legs.

Sakura's breathless reply was, "I will, Gaara. And please take care of yourself while I am away."

She automatically reached over to smooth our Gaara's clothes – her relentless gripping of his robes gave him a slightly disheveled look that was unbecoming of a Kazekage. Gaara in turn helped her by combing his fingers through her hair; he was not about to be accused of feeling her up, even if Sakura had been responsive to his touches so far.

"Shall we?" asked Gaara.

Sakura nodded, and stood back as Gaara withdrew the sand from the doorframe before walking out first. He was the Kazekage after all, and she ranked below him – it was only natural for her to let him leave the room first.

Tsunade took one look at the approaching duo, and her lips curled into a knowing smirk.

"Go and pack up, Sakura. As for your duties to the Regimental Leader as his personal medic, I am reassigning another medic-nin to him until your return."

Sakura could not help but feel a stab of jealousy, but she tried to keep that emotion out of her voice, "And who might that be, Tsunade-shishou?"

"You have summoned me, Hokage-sama?"

In walked a very familiar, sometimes annoying blonde medic-nin.

"Ino?" Sakura had to suppress the shudder of horror that ran through her; Ino was going to grill Gaara about their relationship – there was no doubt about that. And Gaara would simply be too polite to tell her off, although he would not share any information with Ino either.

"Hey, Forehead-girl! What are you doing here?" Ino chirpily waved.

Gaara had absolutely no clue as to why Sakura shot him such a pitying look.


	30. Chapter 30

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

I think I may be actually running short of ideas now. Hence, this filler. If I cannot come up with the next chapter, I'll probably drop this story :(

* * *

><p>More often than not, Naruto drove Sakura nuts.<p>

Today was one of those days.

Thanks to the Intelligence Division that had been corresponding with Naruto and Killer Bee, the four-men team that Kakashi was leading to aid Naruto knew exactly which direction to go in.

Except for the fact that Naruto was somehow zigzagging all over the place, with a grand plan of clearing the entire world of the White Zetsu clones – if the number of dead clones they had stumbled upon was anything to go by. Leaving nothing to chance, Kakashi – team leader for this mission – made the decision to follow Naruto's trail step-for-step, in case they could pick up a pattern from the positions of the White Zetsus.

_That idiot could have just taken a straight route to the Akatsuki base! Why did he have to waste time and energy on unnecessary fights?_

Deep down, Sakura knew the reason – Naruto was just trying to help the Allied Shinobi Forces break past the White Zetsu army so that the shinobis on the frontline have something to do besides sitting on their thumbs. The only trouble was, Naruto was probably unaware of how war-weary the Allied Shinobi Forces had been as of late; they were likely to be welcoming this respite.

And Sakura could not find it in her heart to blame them. Who in their right mind would want to fight in a war where half their numbers have already been decimated by the enemy forces? Naruto might have meant well, but not everyone was going to see it from his perspective.

Kakashi's quiet sigh as he rolled over another rasengan-ravaged White Zetsu body drew Sakura's attention.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Controlled damage," came the reply as Kakashi pointed at the bloodless, gaping wound on the body, "Naruto is doing his best to conserve his chakra while on the move, and I can still sense the lingering presence of Killer Bee-san's chakra-based attacks.

"They appear to be pacing themselves in order to avoid meeting the jinchuurikis while low on chakra. And that's a good thing, too, because we're going to need a few days to catch up to them."

Sakura glanced at one of the White Zetsu corpses, and had to blink away the image of Yamato being held captive to create these monsters. She had no clue to what Yamato must be enduring, but it could not be anything good.

Kakashi looked at her from his squatting position, and said as if having read her mind, "This is a sign that they are still keeping Yamato alive – there would not be so many of these clones otherwise."

Sakura nodded; the shinobis in the frontline have been sending back enemy bodies for autopsy as a standard protocol, and the results of which showed that Yamato's DNA still had a strong presence in them.

She would have to take it as good news, even if being held captive and forced to the enemy's whims was not exactly an ideal situation for anyone to be in.

* * *

><p>Gaara was far from being in an ideal situation.<p>

Since Ino already knew about Sakura's romantic entanglements to the Kazekage, she was adamant about getting her own tent instead of bunking with Gaara. Baki was quick to assist her in procuring a tent of her own and getting it furnished.

Gaara, though, privately wondered how she had come to the conclusion that he would welcome her to stay in his tent, anyway.

Leaving nothing to chance, Sakura had left Ino with a hefty volume of scrolls and records on her work as the Regimental Leader's personal medic, which included an embarrassing amount of rather personal data.

On the upside, it meant that Ino did not have to go through the entire process of taking Gaara's baseline readings, finding out his dietary requirements and all that stuff that he went through with Sakura during their first few days of getting acquainted with each other.

On the downside, Ino seemed to be struggling with the urge to snicker whenever she came to his tent on the first few days, leaving Gaara to wonder exactly what it was that Sakura wrote about him.

One day, he would take a peek at those scrolls.

It also did not take Gaara long to realise that much like his sister, Yamanaka Ino had no qualms about making sexual innuendos in front of men; Gaara pretended not to have heard Ino mumbling about how the Regimental Leader was able to get daily access to honey during a war when she was brewing her first pot of chakra tea for him.

Or he could just be reading too much into her words, except that his new personal medic had a rather feral grin on her lips when she said those words.

That, and Ino had made some rather… suggestive comments about how she would redecorate the Regimental Leader's tent and push the two beds together instead of having them settled one on each end of the tent. Ino was talking aloud to herself at that point, completely unaware that Gaara was just about to pull back the tent flap to enter the tent.

Henceforth, whenever Ino started talking aloud to herself, Gaara would pretend to have developed a sudden case of hearing difficulty.

Part of Gaara's plan was to assign Ino to the medic base as much as possible; it was the look in her eyes – she appeared ready to unload a barrage of questions about his relationship with Sakura the moment she had the chance to. It was a look he was familiar with thanks to years of being cornered by the Suna Senior Council before they unleashed a flurry of petitions and demands on him.

He soon discovered, however, that when Ino wanted something, she was as tenacious as a nin-dog.

"Kazekage-sama, may I talk to you about my friend, Sakura?"

That question popped out one night just as Ino served him his chakra tea. Gaara was halfway lifting the cup to his lips, and he paused to level a firm gaze at Ino, hoping that she would take the hint.

"Yamanaka-san, my association with Haruno-san is not something to be discussed over tea with a medic."

Ino cocked at eyebrow at that statement – Gaara was deliberately pulling rank to avoid the conversation.

Clearly, a change in tactics was in order.

She turned and began to head for the tent flap, apparently unaffected by Gaara's aloofness. Gaara, in turn, was somewhat surprised by her easy retreat. Just before she left, she bowed as she would to a Kage, and flung out the bone that Gaara could _not_ ignore.

"I was just worried about what they have been saying about Sakura in the medic base, Kazekage-sama, but if there is no truth to those words, then I shall take my leave."

The cup of tea was replaced on the table a little louder than necessary, and inwardly Ino grinned.

"I have heard all the rumours and hearsays, Yamanaka-san," Gaara tried to appear disinterested, "So unless you have something of substance, I have a war to attend to."

Ino spun around on her heels and straightened her posture – she was speaking to a Kage and the highest ranking field officer after all.

"There has been much talk among the Suna kunoichis about your relationship with Sakura, Kazekage-sama. I know you have a substantial fanbase among them," at this, Gaara cringed, but Ino continued as if she had not noticed his discomfort, "But what surprised me was how nonchalant they were about a relationship between their Kage and a foreign medic-nin.

"Since Sakura is my best friend, I had to find out why they did not feel threatened by her supposed romantic attachment to their Kage. For Sakura's sake, of course.

"I spoke to your former student, Matsuri, and despite her position as the president of your fanclub and probably your biggest admirer, she appears completely unaffected by Sakura's closeness to you. I believe she may be the only one hold back the other Suna kunoichis from committing violence against Sakura.

"When I spoke to a few Suna kunoichis, they told me the tradition of the Kazehime. So while they resent the time you spend with Sakura, they also know that it's not something that would take permanence. You will leave Sakura one day and marry a kunoichi from your own village. That is why Matsuri is willing to keep Sakura's potential enemies at bay – both because she knows Sakura has no future with you, and also to stay in your good books."

Ino's eyes narrowed as her voice lowered in a mild threat, "Pardon my directness, but is that true, Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara inhaled softly, closing his eyes as he did so. In his private times with Sakura, she had told him about her friends and comrades from Kohonagakure, and he knew that the Yamanaka girl standing before him was someone Sakura considered dear to her heart. It would not be wrong to assume that the blonde girl felt the same way, so her question was likely to be one of concern as a friend.

Still, he had to be certain.

"In what capacity are you asking me that question, Yamanaka-san?"

"Sakura has been hurt once by Sasuke; she does not need to endure that again," Ino's reply was immediate and spoken with no hint of hesitance.

_I am her friend, and I care about her well-being._

On one hand, Gaara was heartened to know that Sakura had so many people watching out for her.

On the other, he dreaded the series of interrogations to come from said people.

"The traditions of Sunagakure," began Gaara, "Are somewhat complicated, even for my people. While it is true that my predecessors have chosen to marry from within the village, it is not a tradition per se, but rather a series of coincidences. In any case, I can offer you my reassurance that our relations with Konohagakure will not be strained."

Inwardly, Ino rolled her eyes. Shikamaru had been liaising with foreign officials soon after his chuunin promotion, and if there was one thing he constantly groused to her about (or considered more troublesome than most matters), it was how he had to reword political officials' flowery speeches in his head to ensure that he would not be tripped up by a cleverly-placed adjective or some obscure jargon.

"_Words within words," Shikamaru once said, "Troublesome."_

And to the shinobis, no one ranked higher as a political figure of importance than a Kage. The Daimyos did not command them – their own Kages did; Gaara was born and raised as a politician's son and successor, complete with a perpetual poker face.

Gaara, who had gotten quite good at recognizing signs of annoyance, noted Ino's slight knitting of her brows and subtly clenched fists. He did not point it out, knowing full well the extent of a kunoichi's wrath.

Instead, he chose to deflect the question; his personal life was not a matter up for idle chit-chat.

"Yamanaka-san, aren't you supposed to be at the medic base now?"

Gaara could have sworn that Ino had just growled at the back of her throat.

"Of course, Kazekage-sama," her tone was a little cooler, as he had expected, "But Kazekage or not, there are a lot of people who will not let you off if you hurt Sakura."

"A perfectly understandable situation, Yamanaka-san. You are dismissed."

When Ino finally left the tent, Gaara released the tension that he did not realise he had held in his shoulders, and sagged a little into his chair.

_Two down, and the rest of Konohagakure to go._

* * *

><p>Kakashi had been watching Sakura while she slept for the past few days while taking the night watch.<p>

Sakura was doing the exact same thing.

They both knew what each other were doing, but neither wanted to be the first to speak up. They still communicated over mission matters and chit-chat of no great significance ("The skies are particularly blue today, Kakashi-sensei." "Yes they are, Sakura."), but Sakura did not want to broach the issue with Kakashi out of respect for him as her former teacher.

Kakashi, in turn, did not want to broach the issue out of respect for her as his former student.

As it was wont with Sakura, Fate decided to intervene.

It was their fourth night since the mission began, and the team was slowly but steadily closing the distance between them and Naruto. Gai had commented off-handedly that if they picked up their pace a little more, they would be able to meet up with Naruto before nightfall the next day.

And Sakura simply could not sleep.

Most if not all shinobis were able to fall asleep at the drop of a hat, since one would never know when they would need the extra boost of energy. Sakura could not be certain that it was what Gai said that was affecting her, but for one reason or another, all she could do was toss and turn in her suddenly too-confining bedroll.

Lee grunted softly in his sleep, and Sakura ceased all movements at once; she did not want to disrupt her teammate's rest.

As quietly as possible, she shuffled her way out of her bedroll and stood up, blinking her eyes rapidly to help them adjust to the darkness. She could make out two other occupied bedrolls across the now dimmed campfire, and deduced that they were Gai and Lee respectively.

Kakashi, who was on the first night watch shift, was presently absent from his nearby sleeping bag.

And so was the sand cat that usually slept curled up against her side.

Inwardly, Sakura berated herself for not noticing the sand cat's absence sooner. It was more than just the matter of a missing pet, but that she had allowed herself to succumb to inattentiveness deep in enemy territory.

_Pull it together, Sakura. Mr. Fluffy-kins couldn't have gone far._

Take a deep, calming breath, Sakura carefully extended her chakra outwards to seek out the sand cat's chakra signature; haphazardly casting out her chakra would only alert any nearby threats of her presence and give away the location of her entire team.

When Sakura did locate the sand cat, she had to pause and probe the chakra signature once more, just to be certain.

Because Mr. Fluffy-kins was up in the trees, and it was usually not fond of heights.

Despite the sand cat's ability to protect itself, Sakura knew the very real possibility of it being a trap. She had started reaching into her thigh holster and was about to pull out a kunai when a tiny pebble flew down and struck the ground near her foot.

On instinct she jumped backwards and dropped to a crouch, making sure that she was giving the possible enemy less surface area to strike before she scanned the direction from which the pebble came with a precise flare of chakra.

There was not one, but two chakra signatures coming from that direction, and Sakura had to suspense her disbelief as she quickly but quietly made her way towards them.

"Jumpy, aren't we?" came a good-natured chuckle.

Sakura pushed aside a branch and narrowed her eyes at her former teacher. Kakashi appeared completely at ease, and was practically lounging on a sturdy branch among the treetops, his posture laid back and arms folded behind his head. However, Sakura knew that if any threats were to surface, Kakashi already have it neutralised before she could even see him move; he was relaxed, but ever-aware of everything around him.

And on the lap of the infamous Copy-nin, purring away most obnoxiously, was the sand cat.

Before Sakura could even come up with an explanation in her head for the oddity before her eyes, Kakashi reached over and patted a nearby branch, gesturing for her to settle herself more comfortably. Unable to come up with a reason to refuse him, Sakura hopped onto the sturdy branch and leaned back against the tree trunk.

The first thing she noticed was the wonderfully unobscured view of the starry skies.

_Are the stars as bright over the 4__th__ Divison's camp site?_

Sakura had to resist physically smacking her forehead. Where had that thought come from?

_Ino's trashy romance novels. That's got to be it._

She was snapped out of her musings, however, when Kakashi practically thrusted the sand cat to her. Sakura blinked once, confused by the gesture until she noticed that Kakashi's visible eyebrow was twitching and the sand cat seemed to be purring more than usual.

"Kakashi-sensei," began Sakura as she took the sand cat from him and pretended not to see Kakashi discreetly dusting off his groin area, "Why did you have Mr. Fluffy-kins with you?"

Kakashi gave her a pointed look as he replied, "You were moving a fair bit in your sleep, Sakura. Your cat just up and walked off and I didn't want it to go wandering outside of the campsite, so I took him with me on my shift."

Well, at least it would explain why the sand cat was digging its claws into Kakashi's pants to keep from falling off while purring madly to comfort itself.

And was she really moving _that_ much in her sleep?

"So, Sakura," Kakashi's voice turned lower, more serious, "Is something on your mind that you'd like to talk about?"

Sakura turned her head away slightly; she did have a lot on her mind – so much so that she did not even know where to begin.

"I don't know where to start," she finally confessed, her gaze still adverted.

Kakashi pondered over her words for a moment, and asked, "What is the first thing that jumps to your mind when you worry?"

As it was sometimes the case, Sakura's mouth moves before her brain had the chance to.

"Sasuke."

Kakashi's facial expression remained passive while he considered Sakura's tensed shoulders and hooded gaze; He was expecting something more along the lines of Sakura dreading her impending reunion with Naruto, given that Sakura was now dating his best friend.

He had no idea about that Naruto had already given his blessings to them, of course. Naruto and Gaara's big confrontation in the desert remained a secret to just the both of them and Sakura.

Kakashi nodded once – a silent prompt for her to speak freely. Sakura cast him a sideway glance and inhaled deeply, her shoulders drawn back before being pushed forward in her following exhale. When she finally met his gaze, Kakashi could see the sea of conflict raging inside of her through her deep, green eyes.

"Knowing now that everything Sasuke had done was all not of his own violation, but entirely the result of a Konoha mission gone wrong, that his attacks on us was forced by the hands of others… I really don't know what I feel about his actions anymore.

"Uchiha Itachi is alive now, and I am certain if Sasuke knew of this, it would absolve some of his misguided sense of guilt towards killing his brother. Someday, the old Sasuke may come back to us, and…"

"And?" prompted Kakashi when Sakura stopped talking without any warning.

"Can we forgive him? Can everything go back to the way it was?"

"Sakura… it's not really about Sasuke, is it?"

Sakura could only stare owlishly at her former teacher, unable to comprehend the meaning of his words.

So Kakashi decided to be straightforward about it.

"You are wondering if Sasuke's return will threaten your feelings towards the Kazekage."

If Sakura's eyes were large before, they were definitely bigger than dinner plates right now; she gaped at Kakashi's extremely blunt choice of words, but mostly, she gaped at how easily Kakashi had read her mind.

"Close your mouth, Sakura," Kakashi's voice held no amusement.

"Ka… Kakashi-sensei, how could you…" Sakura struggled to find the right words while attempting to keep her temper in check – going on an explosive rage in the middle of the night while in enemy territory ranked as Naruto-Stupid on the stupidity scale, "Sasuke… I never loved him. I had a silly childhood crush on him, and that was all there is to it. I am with Gaara now, and Sasuke's return will not change that fact!"

"But you liked Sasuke, and only recently did you let go of him. That is why you are finally allowing yourself to date Gaara. You have always pushed away the advances of other men; don't think your sensei doesn't notice such things, Sakura."

Aside from the fact that Kakashi just admitted to keeping tabs on his own student's love life, Sakura was equally mortified by now observant her pornography-reading, constantly late teacher was even as they had drifted apart over the years.

"Gaara…" Sakura swallowed a sudden lump in her throat, "He likes me for me. I don't have to pretend to be perfect, or change my way of life as a kunoichi to please him. And he shows me a side of him I think only a handful of people have ever seen.

"When I was around Sasuke, I had to act the part of an ideal Uchiha matriarch candidate. I could never have reached my full potential if Sasuke had not left us, because I was weaker than him, and he made me aware of it constantly both in his words and actions. I would have been contented to stay in his shadows if it meant making him happy; I would have left my career as a medic-nin if he asked me to do so.

"That's not who I want to be, Kakashi-sensei.

"I want to be someone who can look herself in the eye when she faces the mirror. I realised now that a relationship could never work if either party kept part of themselves secreted away from each other in an attempt to pacify the other."

Sakura lifted her head, and met Kakashi's eyes solemnly, saying, "But inside of me is a little girl that once had a crush on the Last Living Uchiha, and I don't want her to re-appear ever again."

Before she could even blink, Kakashi was gone from her line of sight, and the next thing Sakura felt was the older man's arm sliding awkwardly around her shoulders to pull her against his side.

"Ka-Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi exhaled long and loud, "Sakura, you cannot be worrying about the what-mays and the future in general. I know that like most of the girls from our Village, you were mainly smitten with his looks. You're a grown woman now, and not as easily swayed by something so frivolous."

Sakura was still not looking at him, so Kakashi mentally braced himself and forced out his next words, "The Kazekage himself isn't… so bad-looking himself… I'm positive that if you spend some… 'quality time' with Gaara, you will find him to be more than just a replacement for Sasuke."

_Gag me with a spoon and kill me now, God. Did I just wax lyrical about another male's attractiveness to my own female student? And encouraged them to engage in adult activities?_

Really, imagining one's own student, whom he had taught since she was a child, and thinking about her getting frisky with someone whom he had known once also as a child was just… wrong. All sorts of wrong.

Yes, it was also the wrong thing to say, because Sakura was now looking at him like he had suddenly grown another head, and that head was Kabuto's.

"Sensei… did you just tell me to…?" Sakura started to lean away from Kakashi.

Kakashi started rubbing his forehead into the base of his palm, muttering, "Please don't make me repeat myself."

"Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura muttered darkly, "I'm going to trash your entire Icha Icha Paradise Collection when this war is over."

"Hey! You were the one thinking that your heart will fall for Sasuke again when you know in your mind that Gaara is a better match for you. I'm just trying to… help you redirect your thoughts!"

Kakashi had been observing the sand cat, which while dozing on Sakura's lap, would twitch its ear whenever either one of them mentioned Sasuke. However, Sakura was currently a little too frazzled to have noticed that.

It was then that Kakashi realised something else.

"Wait. You've never gotten it on with Gaara?"

Sakura would have shrieked in both frustration and horror if they were not in danger of exposing their positions to any nearby enemies.

Kakashi took her tomato-red face and chakra glow-filled fists as a "yes".

"Right," said Kakashi more to himself than anyone else, "Then I will need to give the Kazekage a talk about the birds and the bees the moment we return, which I suspect was not part of his education growing up."

Somewhere in the distance, said Kazekage suddenly sneezed and wondered if he was coming down with a cold.

Sakura had practically pressed her face into the sand cat's back by now, which confused the little, purring creature. She turned her head slightly, never lifting it from her bent-over posture, when she heard Kakashi starting to chuckle.

"Sensei…" her voice bore a hint of threat.

"Sakura-chan," he practically beamed back at her.

And really, the idea of killing her former teacher should not feel so good.

"Sakura?" Kakashi spoke up after what seemed like a very long time.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?" Her voice was muffled from having her face buried in her hands.

_Is he finally going to stop talking about my love life?_

"I remembered when you were a young genin – all you could think about was how to get Sasuke to kiss you."

_No, definitely not._

"You have grown up a lot over the years, but you are still in your teenage years nonetheless, which means your… hormones are still very, very, VERY active."

"One 'very' would have sufficed, Kakashi-sensei…"

Kakashi pretended to have not heard her, since he was too busy avoiding all eye contact while broaching such a delicate topic with his female student, "Yes, but right now, you look ready to jump into the centre of the Earth just because I mentioned you and Gaara bringing your relationship to the next level. If it were the old you; if it was just a crush like it was with Sasuke… wouldn't you be drooling or doing something equally mortifying instead?"

"La la la la la – I cannot hear you!" Sakura was now performing a rather remarkable feat of covering her eyes while plugging up her ears at the same time.

Kakashi looked ready to mimick Sakura as well, but he had gotten this far already – he might as well climb out from the other side.

"The fact that you are treating your relationship with the Kazekage as something private shows that you value it as more than some trophy-bragging rights as it was with Sasuke, even with the scant few years of maturity between them; That you are taking things slow shows that you are serious about Gaara and don't want to ruin anything with rash actions or decisions."

Kakashi reached over and ruffled her hair in a kindly-uncle sort of way.

"The two of you will be fine, even when Sasuke comes back," Kakashi smiled gently to her, the only tell-tale sign being the crinkling of his visible eye.

Sakura slowly looked up at Kakashi, and slowly, oh so slowly, pulled her hands away from her head.

Finally, she flashed him a cheeky grin, "Thanks, Kakashi-sensei. You give great advice, for a porno-reading pervert and all."

"You're welcomed Sakura. You are doing pretty well, yourself, for a short-tempered, bone-breaking kunoichi and all."

Sakura was about to reach up to remove Kakashi's hand from the top of her head when a strange, sniffing-like sound reached her ears. Both shinobis spun towards the direction of the noise at once, aware of how close possible danger was.

It was dangerous, alright.

Perched on the next tree and drying their eyes on their sleeves were two green-clad shinobis, both identical down to their imposing eyebrows.

"That was so beautiful, Kakashi! You have connected so wonderfully with your female student, and shall serve as a shining example of what I need to do with Ten Ten! You are indeed my worthy rival!" declared Gai in a loud whisper as he managed to flash them a thumbs-up sign despite being busy wiping his nose against his sleeve.

Before Sakura had a chance to fully comprehend the situation, Lee had leapt over and was now standing by her side.

He was equally teary-eyed as he clasped his hands together and said, "Sakura-san, I didn't know that you were seeing the Kazekage. But now that I know, I shall wish you both the very best, and I promise to train harder than ever to win back your affections!"

Sakura really wished an enemy patrol would come upon them now, just to get herself out of this almost ridiculous situation.

One look at Kakashi told her that the older man was wishing… no, _praying_ for the same thing.

With daylight being still hours away, Sakura knew that even if the weight on her heart had been lifted, she would not be getting any sleep for the rest of the night.


	31. Chapter 31

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

I should be continuing this story, it seems.

* * *

><p>"Knock knock."<p>

Girls continued to mystify Gaara.

From the chakra signature outside, he could tell the voice belonged to Temari long before she even spoke up. Also, she had to already know that he could sense her coming.

So why the playful little greeting as a way of announcing her arrival?

Gaara concluded that it must be either something about his elder sister, or something about females in general.

"Come in."

A very familiar, and very coy-looking blonde female poked her head past the tent flap before striding into the tent with the airs that only an elder sibling could possess.

Pressing a hand to his paper-strewn desk, Temari leaned forward and spoke, "I see you've finished your meeting with the Intelligence Division this morning; lots of paperwork being left for you now."

"An astute observation, Temari. I'll be sure to tell our private physician to skip your eye test the next time."

Gaara's complete lack of emotion in both his words and expression only made the grin on Temari's face wider, if that was possible. She was stating the obvious, and they both knew it; the Intelligence Division meeting team left the tent not more than a minute ago.

"Why are you really here, Temari?"

For a second, Temari considered pulling the 'concerned elder sister act' on Gaara, but the more cautious part of her warned that it had been close to a week since he had been left in the company of a certain Yamanaka female, whom – according to Shikamaru's description – was "Headache on Legs". Gaara's fuse was probably as short as it could get without him blowing up already.

"Anything new from Sakura's team?" Temari's tone was a little too airy for her to properly feign disinterest.

"Everything here is from Hatake-san's team," Gaara replied, gesturing to the scrolls and papers with a sweep of his hand, "Since the orders will be given out soon, you should expect all four Divisions to be breaking camp and moving towards the Akatsuki base."

Temari raised an eyebrow, and Gaara did not even have to pause to consider if it was alright to reveal more information to her – Temari was his ranking officer, and elder sister.

On the battlefront, rank came before blood.

"It seems like Naruto and Killer Bee-san have been wiping out whatever nest of White Zetsu clones they can find enroute to the Akatsuki base. While Hatake-san's reports did not make any recommendations, I've consulted with Shikamaru-san and the best tactical move we can make right now is to secure these locations to prevent the enemy troops from taking them over again. This will allow us to make the final assault on the Akatsuki base without worrying about being surprised by more of those clones."

Temari had been nodding her head as Gaara spoke, and was still doing so when her brother had stopped.

"Spill it, Temari," Gaara's voice held just the smallest hint of resignation; there was no way Temari was genuinely here for a debrief from the Intelligence Division – she usually received such information during Gaara's officer meetings when they have been distilled to the bare essentials for each officer to carry out their duty efficiently.

"Well," drawled Temari, "I was wondering if you've been keeping in touch with Sakura since she left on this mission?"

Gaara blinked, both surprised at the question and surprised at himself that he had not _thought_ to do something that might have been considered ritualistic in a normal relationship.

Unfortunately, the circumstances of his relationship with Sakura were anything but normal.

He adverted his gaze from Temari and tried to focus on a random sheet of paper, stating, "You know it is against protocol to include personal communication with mission conveyances."

"Gaara," Temari sometimes really, really wanted to smack the politician part of her brother out of his body, "A relationship does not go by the book, especially one between a Kage and a kunoichi of differing Hidden Villages… Hey, what about that cat of hers?"

"What of it?"

"In that case," Temari pointed an accusing finger at Gaara, causing him to blink in surprise, "Why don't you use it to communicate with Sakura instead? Find out how she is and all?"

Gaara blinked once more, then turned away and simply replied, "It's a cat, Temari."

"A cat made from your chakra-infused sand!"

"It's just a cat. They don't do much," Gaara explained, "Besides, it only listens to Sakura."

"Geez, little brother," Temari placed her hands on cocked hips, "No matter how you look at it, the sand cat is still made from your chakra-infused sand. There must be some way you can control it to send a message of askance or concern to Sakura. That's how you build a relationship – through communication."

Gaara still did not return her gaze, and Temari knew she was going to be ignored for a good, long time. Sighing loudly, she made for the tent flap, but paused just before lifting it.

"Just… think about it, ok?"

And with that, Gaara was once again alone in his tent.

* * *

><p>Naruto, Sakure decided, needed to come with an instruction manual. Or at least arrive bubble-wrapped.<p>

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!" The blond shinobi practically jumped on top of her head the moment their eyes met, completely ignoring the fact that Sakura had just thrown a fistful of shurikens at him purely out of instinct.

Naruto and Killer Bee had received information from the Intelligence Division that Kakashi's team was close to meeting up with them, and for some reason yet unknown to her, Naruto decided to backtrack to meet them. It resulted in a near-clash when Kakashi's team felt two immense chakra signatures headed towards them and ordered everyone to assume battle positions at once.

Fortunately, Naruto's overwhelming Kyuubi chakra cloak caused Sakura's shurikens to bounce off his aura harmlessly. Either that, or he did not notice them at all, which would explain why he was currently grinning like he just finished off several helpings of ramen.

"Naruto, please!" Sakura all but shrieked as the blond wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off her feet.

She could not convince herself to bash Naruto's head in, not when he wore the smile of a thousand suns.

To the side, Killer Bee did seem impressed by Lee's roundhouse that came at him, and was now chatting with the bashful-looking youth.

Which left Kakashi and Gai standing next to each other, both looking unsure as to how to proceed.

"So…" Kakashi turned to his self-proclaimed rival and scratched his head, "Maybe we should go round up some dinner?" Whatever rations they had on hand would in all likelihood fail to sate the appetites of two jinchuurikis, if past experiences of dining with Naruto were anything to go by.

Gai unconsciously patted his supplies pouch, and then nodded.

* * *

><p>Everything about Naruto was infectious, as Kakashi found himself reminded once more about the orange-clad ninja's strange, strange trait. Even his clumsiness was infectious.<p>

_I blame Naruto, _Kakashi thought to himself as he came face-to-face with a vent-like snout.

Because that had to be the only explanation why he had accidentally stepped on the tail of a sleeping boar, which turned out to be the size of a small barn; which in turn, apparently did not like to have its sleep disturbed.

"Nice find, Kakashi!" Gai flashed him a winsome grin and a thumbs-up, completely missing the point that he too, might soon become one of the irritated boar's targets.

Used to the obliviousness of others around him, Kakashi simply crinkled a smile under his mask and said conversationally, "This may be a bother to drag all the way back to camp, so we should let it deliver itself, ah?"

Gai simply tilted his head, completely ignorant to what Kakashi was implying.

But all it took was Kakashi's sudden burst of speed as he ran towards the camp, leaving an angry boar to turn its head to Gai as it pawed the ground warningly – Gai got the hint, alright.

Sakura was setting up trigger-traps along the camp's parameters with Lee when a commotion from the general direction of the camp caused her to whip around; she quickly assessed the situation – thundering movements headed towards the centre of the camp, but no accompanying voices or clanging of weapons to indicate that the approaching group were Akatsuki puppets or more White Zetsu clones.

That did not set her mind at ease, yet.

Lee leapt down from the top of the tree that he had planted a series of explosive tags, landing in a neat crouch next to Sakura.

He dusted his sleeve to dislodge a few twigs and turned to Sakura, "It's nothing to worry about, Sakura-san. It was just Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei."

Sakura blinked, a shadow of a scowl on her lips, "And what exactly were they doing – sending up flare signals to tell the enemies where we are?"

Lee had one finger raised and looked ready to answer her, but she palmed her forehead and said, "You know, Lee-kun, forget that I asked. Let's just finish up securing the camp."

Lee watched Sakura's retreating figure for a while before turning back to gaze in the direction of the camp.

"We are going to need a bigger fire pit," he mused to himself, and promptly began checking his surroundings for suitable firewood.

* * *

><p>The clatter of carelessly-dropped firewood onto the dusty ground earned Sakura but a mere glance from her motley team before they turned their attention back to something far bigger.<p>

Literally.

"… tonkatsu, chasu ramen, buta kakuni, shabu shabu…"

From the direction of the voice, it became clear that Naruto had decided to sunbathe on the back of the unconscious, hugely-oversized boar while fantasising about everything and anything that could be made out of pork.

"Oi, Naruto," Sakura regained her composure and walked towards the side of the fallen beast, "You know we don't have the ingredients for any of those dishes, right?"

From somewhere above her line of vision, Naruto whined.

"Sakura-chan, it's been _months_ since we have eaten anything halfway-decent. Couldn't you just let me dream for a bit?"

Sakura sighed softly to herself as she knelt down to begin picking up the firewood that she had dropped. Lee was heaving along a pile of it that was twice his own height, and she had insisted politely but firmly to help him. On their way back to camp, she had asked the young man why he decided they needed enough wood to build a cabin; Lee simply grinned and said something about a special dinner.

A dinner so special, Sakura worked out that probably needed more firewood to roast the boar whole over a fire.

That image was strangely comforting – only Naruto could inspire such madness around their lives.

Sakura had learnt earlier that when Kakashi and Gai came trampling back into camp with the boar keen on skewering them with its inhumanly-sharp fangs, it took Killer Bee and Naruto but a second to work out that dinner was being served. Two sychronised drop-kicks later, the poor beast was down for the count and most likely suffering from a serious concussion.

Right now, Kakashi was studying the beast, tilting his head from one side to another in an almost academic manner. Finally, he nodded to himself and moved towards the jugular of the still-breathing animal.

Sakura knew what was coming, and despite all her years as both kunoichi and medic, was not prepared to witness a _calculated_ ending of a life, animal or not. So she turned her back to the scene and started in the direction of a lake she saw while setting up the perimeter traps with Lee.

The sand cat materalised quietly beside her, and fell into step with its owner. Every so often, it would rub up against one of her ankles and purr – it was a comforting gesture.

As the sounds of dinner preparation faded into the distance, so did the lake come into view. The sun had started dipping into the horizon, setting the lake aglow in a blaze of liquid fire. It was a fair-sized lake, fed by a slow-running stream that ran almost parallel to the horizon from where Sakura was standing.

Sakura was seated on a patch of feather-like grass before she came back to herself.

It took her a moment longer to realise that she was no longer alone. Well, not counting the sand-cat.

"So," Naruto's voice was almost _too_ serious, "Uchiha Madara."

Sakura looked up at the blond, waiting for him to catch her gaze. When their eyes finally met, she patted the ground next to her as an invitation; Naruto took it after a second of hesitation. They both turned to face the lake, the tension of words yet unspoken lingering above them.

"The whole Uchiha clan is insane," declared Sakura towards the skies.

Naruto blinked, and asked uncertainly, "How insane?"

"Stark-raving, mortality-defying, logic-rewriting insane."

Naruto blinked once more at her, then promptly fell ass-over-head in uproarious laughter. The sand-cat puffed up and made a hissing sound as it narrowly dodged Naruto's flailing limbs, deciding instead to crowd up against Sakura's side to shield its owner from the blond.

"It's not that funny, Naruto," Sakura admonished as she smacked the side of his head with a little more force than necessary, although she could not keep the upturn of her lips at bay either.

"No… no…" Naruto managed between gasps of air to control his mirth, "It's funny… because it's just… _so _damn true!"

An immortal, bent on gathering the greatest monsters in the land and reuniting them as one. Harnessing the power of the now-singular beast, he would turn the moon into the grandest hypnosis device ever and use it to control the minds of the entire human race.

Oh yeah, that definitely did not sound like a bad science fiction/fantasy movie plot or something.

It was the image of Uchiha Madara standing atop a mountain and giving his villain-standard monologue, his Akatsuki cloak billowing behind him with the snarling Jyuubi as his backdrop that sent Sakura into her own fit of giggles.

Meanwhile, the poor sand-cat, unused to the increased volume of noise around it, chose to show its displeasure by pulling back its ears and glaring at Naruto's pants.

After a few minutes of uncontrolled laughter, both shinobis quieted down and settled back to sitting side-by-side.

"Hey," they both began at the exact same moment.

Naruto and Sakura exchanged looks, and exploded into laughter once more.

The sand-cat had taken to hiding under some nearby bushes. It decided quietly to itself that someday, it would have to remove the orange-clad human from its owner for good – that orange being was just too _loud_ and a bad influence on Sakura.

"Naruto, can you promise me something?"

"Sure." No hesitations, no pauses.

Sakura looked down at her knotted fingers, "Promise me that you will not try to talk Madara out of this war.

"Nagato-san, Raikage-sama… they all listened to you because they were unknowing players in Madara's twisted game of chess. And above all, they are honourable shinobis, willing to put the lives of others before their own. But Madara is the mastermind behind this entire madness – a goal that he spent decades working towards. He uses people like pawns and discards them once their usefulness runs out. He will never listen to reason.

"So promise me, Naruto. Promise me that you will not try to talk sense to a man who has already taken so much away from the shinobi world."

Naruto gave Sakura one of the most serious looks she had ever seen on him, and promptly replied, "Sorry, Sakura-chan. I can't do that."

"Wh…" Sakura did not manage to get even a word out before Naruto held up a fist he made in the direction of the lake.

With a sorrow-tinged smile, Naruto explained, "No one has heard Uchiha Madara's side of the story. I am going to give him a chance to explain his actions, and maybe his actions might have been born the same way that Nagato, Itachi and Sasuke's were."

_Every villain is a hero in his own mind._

Which brings to mind a certain former Team Seven member.

"Have you forgiven Sasuke, Naruto?" she asked softly.

"Nope."

Sakura froze, but only for a second.

"I never hated Sasuke to begin with," Naruto turned to her and grinned, "Sure, we fought a lot and always try to one-up each other, but he's like a brother to me. Brothers are always trying to one-up each other. You can't hate someone you consider a brother."

Sakura slammed both palms against the ground; it was fortunate that they were on the grassy banks, otherwise, the ground would have been dotted with cracks by her actions.

"Naruto, putting a hole in your chest and drawing a sword against you is more than just some brotherly sparring! I know he is your good… no, probably one of your dearest friends, but don't you think you should at least be a tiny bit angry that he did all that to you?!"

"Oh, I'm angry alright," Naruto cracked his knuckles, "I'm angry that we never got to settling who is the stronger one between us."

For some reason, Naruto's reply brought to mind Gaara's own words about Sasuke.

_"He could no longer see the love and friendship he had waiting for him all along. He claims that he has deliberately closed his eyes to even the slightest sliver of light," Gaara paused to look at Sakura, trying to read her expression, "Do you still think he can be saved, so blinded he is by his hatred?"_

Those were not the words of a man who held a grudge, despite the years Shukaku had later inside Gaara to nurse its hatred of Sasuke for the shame that he had brought them at the Chunin Examinations.

Which led Sakura to only one conclusion.

"I'm being really petty… about Sasuke, aren't I?" She whispered, "It seems like everyone I know is ready to forgive him, but for some reason, I…"

Naruto laid one hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently; it was the reassuring presence of someone familiar that she needed.

"Up until a few months ago, I was still completely convinced that I loved Sasuke. Do you think maybe that's why I have so much trouble forgiving his actions? Because of some repressed feeli…"

"Aw, Sakura-chan!" Naruto started scratching his head in an exaggerated manner, "You know I'm no good at this touchy-feely stuff! Maybe, I dunno, you can't forgive him for hurting Gaara instead?"

As if on cue, the sand-cat hissed and leapt out from its hiding place under the bushes, a cloud of sand trailing behind it. It took Sakura a moment longer to realise it was not so much as the sand-cat being followed, but Mr. Fluffy-kins' tail having disintegrated into said cloud of sand. Making an agitated sound, the sand-cat bound right into Sakura's slack arms and crowded up against her chest, turning around only once to hiss at its own now-vanished tail.

"Mr. Fluffy-kins! Wha…" Sakura barely begun to speak when the cat's former tail started to tighten and wind into a compact stream of sand. The sand hovered in the air for a moment, and for one ridiculous second, Sakura thought that it looked… hesistant.

Sakura was not certain that she was up to dealing with self-aware sand with all that she had on her plate already.

It was a familiar ticklish sensation settling on the back of her hand that gave her a hint of what was coming.

'Be safe.'

Naruto, who had by then stopped worrying that the sand cat was going to attack his pants once more, was glancing over Sakura's shoulder.

"Wow. That's really… romantic," Naruto commented in a badly-suppressed tone of disappointment.

The blond was looking forward to seeing some outlandish declarations of undying love that he could hold over Gaara's head when they were to meet again; though, at least Gaara was manly enough to not write love poems to his punch-happy Sakura-chan.

What Naruto did not notice was how some of the sand had settled on the ground next to Sakura's sandal and spelt out a sentence; it formed letters and words out of his view but not Sakura's, and after a pause, vanished to re-form as the sand cat's tail.

'Your absence has been keenly felt.'

Sakura supposed it was Gaara's way of saying "I missed you" in the most romantic way possible within enemy territory.

"Yosh!" Naruto pumped a fist into the air, reminding Sakura that she was not alone, "Now I know there is something I can beat Gaara at – writing love letters! Even I can write better than just two words!"

Sakura nodded at his enthusiasm, too polite to comment that Naruto had no other party to write a love letter to to begin with.

"You should reply to that," came a voice from behind them.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

"Stop sneaking up on people when we're practically in the enemy's backyard!" Sakura all but yelled at the smiling man.

"Forgive me, Sakura-chan," Kakashi looked just about as sorry as he was on any other day, "I shall send out a chakra flare to alert you that dinner is ready the next time."

On one hand, Sakura had to concede that masking his chakra was a correct move on Kakashi's part; on the other hand, she was _actually_ reaching for the poison-tipped shuriken and could have launched them if her brain suddenly reminded her that Naruto was not the only friendly face around.

"Come on now, you two," Kakashi beckoned them with a lethargic wave of his hand, "And Sakura, I'm sure I can spare you some parchment paper to write back to Kazekage-sama with."

"Thank you for the offer, Kakashi-sensei, but I have my own stationary," Sakura smiled.

"Ever prepared, Sakura-chan."

"Of course, sensei."

* * *

><p>In the name of sibling bonding, Temari had decided to have dinner with Gaara in his tent.<p>

She was not there to learn more about the developments of her younger brother's love life, she told her grinning self.

Kankurou was an unwilling but unfortunate participant in his sister's plans.

Dinner was a quiet affair – silent, but not awkward. Temari and Kankurou were long used to Gaara's aloofness.

_Especially when he had something, or someone, on his mind,_ the ever-caring elder sister thought to herself.

It was during the after-dinner tea when the situation finally took a turn for the noisier side – namely because the sand-cat decided to materialise over Gaara's table and nearly knock over his scalding-hot cup of green tea. Kankurou was saved from getting second-degree burns on his crotch by Gaara's sand reaching out in time to steady the cup.

"Mun?" Gaara asked in mild surprise; he had tried to summon his creation to pass his concerns to Sakura, but the sand-cat had refused to appear before him. It resulted in him resorting to directly commanding part of the sand-cat's body to change into writing for him at some chakra expense.

Sakura would kill him if she knew he was using chakra to communicate with her.

He would have to come up with some creative explanation as to how he turned part of Mun into a sand message before Sakura returned.

"Hey Gaara, what does the note say?" Temari was almost hopping as she pressed both hands on the edge of Gaara's table.

The redhead looked down at the sand-cat's neck and noted that there was indeed a small, rolled up piece of paper tied to its neck with a pink ribbon. He untied the knot, unfurled the note, and quickly scanned it before smirking.

"Well?" Temari was two seconds away from snatching the note to read it.

"See for yourself," Gaara handed her the note with odd casualness as the sand-cat vanished back to Sakura's side.

Baffled by how easily Gaara relinquished the note, Temari turned her eyes to the content of the notes.

"Is this a… mission status report?" she asked over Kankurou's head who was also reading the note, disbelief evident in her voice.

Gaara nodded once, causing Temari to throw her arms up into the air and nearly clocking Kankurou in the nose.

"You two are romantically-challenged! I'm never going to see nephews or nieces for the next hundred years, I swear!"

"There's still me…" Kankurou voiced out.

Temari shot Kankurou a look that clearly said "I don't want to see what your kids are going to be like."

Gaara continued to watch his siblings bicker, his eyes straying but once to the writing on the inside of the ribbon.

"I missed you, too."


	32. Chapter 32

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

Apologies for the delay. I do, however, continue looking forward to receiving C&C :D

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><p>"Beware of the White Zetsu army."<p>

And really, the way Itachi spoke those words as he appeared suddenly, standing over the dying embers of their firepit made it sound like he should have been saying "beware of knee-high pink elephants" or "beware of falling kunoichis from the skies".

In short, he sounded absurd.

Perhaps it was due more to the context of his message, though, Sakura reasoned. After all, they already knew of the White Zetsus' cloning abilities and their vast numbers. His warning was, at best, redundant-sounding.

_Thank you, Captain Obvious._

"Hey, Itachi," Naruto waved gleefully to the ominous-looking figure standing across him as if he was greeting an old friend.

Kakashi and Gai clearly did not share the orange-clad ninja's enthusiasm and quietly shifted in their seats so they were flanking Itachi. If the Uchiha prodigy noticed their actions, he said nothing.

Kakashi was the first to speak up. "I didn't expect to see you again, Itachi."

Itachi glanced once in his direction, then swept his gaze around the camp, assessing the faces old and new amongst them. He had paused briefly at Sakura, a flicker of old recollections jumping to his mind as he placed the pink-haired woman in his still-recovering memories before his passing.

In his mind, the scene before him was akin to the attempted rescue of the Kazekage from over a year ago.

The rescue had been a success of sorts, but at a price which a warring shinobi world could no longer afford.

Itachi knew he had to deliver his warning.

"Naruto," he turned to the blond who leaned forward upon hearing his name, "It was foolish to wipe out all the White Zetsus on your way to confront the bijuus."

"B… but they are stopping the Alliance from advancing! Gaara can't send more shinobis in – I needed to do something to help our army. If I can clear out the White Zetsu army, we can start setting up our own camps that much nearer to the Akatsuki base!"

Naruto looked so crest-fallen, Itachi knew that he had to elaborate, "If Zetsu had done what he always did, then he must have sent back intel on you and the Hachibi. The more you attacked them, the more information you gave away about your abilities. Madara will be prepared for whatever you have thrown at them so far, and more."

Naruto stole a glance at his old teammates and friends, and Sakura could already tell he was wondering if he had endangered them; his own safety was not his top priority – it was the people he loved and cared for.

Also, she did not like how Itachi was putting Naruto through a guilt-trip, intentional or not.

"Itachi-san," Sakura's voice was soft but firm, "We will be providing support to Naruto and Killer Bee-san. I doubt Madara knows of our involvement, and even if he does, it would be best if he does not underestimate the shinobis of Konohagakure."

When Itachi turned to look at her with scrutinising eyes, Sakura could practically feel her body shrinking into itself.

But she had to defend Naruto's good (if ill-conceived) intentions, dammit!

"Indeed," Itachi said at last, "With his attention paid mostly to the attainment of all the bijuus, Madara can underestimate those who do not possess them. That was why he lost to Senju Hashirama so many years ago. Your added numbers may unsettle his plans for Naruto and Killer Bee, but one does not stay immortal without learning to adapt to unexpected situations.

"While the White Zetsus are able to clone themselves, it is not possible for them to mimic the presence of a bijuu within. If they did pick up on Naruto and Killer Bee's abilities, I expect them to be more formidable than your standard foot soldier."

This was the part where Sakura came close to smacking her forehead, and probably Naruto's for good measure. While they made sure to share all their information on Zetsu's powerful cloning technique with Naruto, they had forgotten to factor in the Naruto Recklessness Multiplier, or N.R.M. for short; the clones could have drained Naruto's chakra six ways from Sunday and he still would not be able to tell the difference because of his immense chakra reserves.

"It would be quite a tale to tell if we end up facing an army of Naruto clones," Kakashi rubbed his chin in contemplation.

"We won't be alive to tell the tale!" Sakura was _this_ close to shrieking.

At its owner's distress, the sand-cat shifted from its position of basking in front of the dying embers to Sakura's side. It raised a paw and placed it on Sakura's sandaled foot and gazed up at her, eyes bright against the surrounding dimness.

Itachi turned to face the source of movement and searched his memories for the chakra signature that the sand-cat was carrying, but found nothing familiar. It was, however, a powerful signature: tinged with possessiveness and a desire to protect. Surely whoever that made this creature had to be a shinobi of considerable chakra strength.

It was, however, the protectiveness within the sand-cat's flowing chakra that called out to Itachi the most.

"Kunoichi," addressed Itachi, causing both Sakura and the sand-cat to raise their gaze to meet his, "Keep that cat close; it desires to protect you."

And really, that should not have caused Sakura to blush, nor cause Katsuyu to squelch indignantly from inside her collar.

Sakura chalked up the sand-cat's somewhat familiar, almost-smirking expression to part of her overactive imagination.

What she did not expect was for the sand-cat to turn around and saunter over to Itachi, leap on a nearby branch and then land on the stoic young man's shoulder to perch like a four-legged parrot.

Itachi blinked.

Naruto blinked. Twice.

Sakura blinked thrice. And rubbed her eyes for good measure.

_Nope, not dreaming. Mr. Fluffy-kins is picking favourites again._

It was not something Sakura was completely unfamiliar with – Harumi always seemed to prefer the company of her father to her mother, sometimes to the extent of leaving the room when Sakura's mother entered it.

But why in the name of all that was rational was the sand-cat doing on Itachi's shoulder?

Also, why was Itachi scratching its chin as if there was nothing out of the ordinary?

With the sand-cat in such close proximities, it was now apparent to Itachi that it was not actually a real cat, but one that has been made out of sand. And it was done so well that only the slight grainy feel of the cat's chin gave away its true form.

In all his living years, Itachi had only ever encountered a single shinobi capable of controlling sand. He had, in fact, been sent to spy on this particular shinobi before Deidara and Sasori proceeded with their mission to kidnap said shinobi.

From what Itachi had observed – Regimental Leader of the Allied Shinobi Forces, Fifth Kazekage and former host of the Ichibi – Gaara was a man who rarely gave his trust to others, and he was certainly not a man of affections.

Yet here was a sand-cat, a creation that one might consider frivolous. And more importantly, it was not tagged with monitoring chakra to allow Gaara to observe everything the sand-cat was seeing; instead, it felt more like a companion animal sent along with defensive orders directed strictly at a specific individual.

This was a war – casualties are to be expected. If Kages could be considered unfortunate sacrifices, then the Regimental Leader's personal medic was even more expendable, no matter her position within her own village. Sakura's position within Konohagakure, while one which might have been considered that of a daughter to the heirless Hokage, did not make her more important than the Kages' first duty of protecting the last two free jinchuurikis. A protective animal guard should have been assigned to Naruto instead, if what Itachi heard of their close friendship was true.

Unless…

Unless one was considering the bigger picture: one beyond the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Itachi stole a glance at Sakura – the poor girl looked torn between wanting to grab the cat back, and wanting to beat the crap out of him for being so friendly with them despite the very recent disclosure of his status as a double-agent.

_Perhaps a union between two Hidden Villages would not be too far-fetched an idea, as long as the other Hidden Villages do not decry the imbalance of power._

An alliance between two Hidden Villages also meant the end of any further tragedies similar to that of the Uchiha Massacre – a system of balance and checks would prevent any faction within either villages from becoming powerful enough to bring about a coup.

And the Kazekage's affections to a certain kunoichi from Konohagakure was evident: it was sitting on his shoulder. Sakura's silent plea in her eyes for him to return the cat spoke of her returned feelings as well.

Itachi decided quietly that he should send a message to the Hokage – a little suggestion of sorts.

To his left, Gai started to whistle a little too loudly. It was then that Itachi realised he had been silent for longer than what most people were comfortable with.

So he drew their attention to the purring creature that was doing an odd little prancing-on-the-spot dance on his shoulder.

"Does this cat understand human language?" The Uchiha prodigy enquired.

Even if the sand-cat understood humans to begin with, Sakura had absolutely no words to express the baffling vision of a former Akatsuki member interacting so casually with a small mammal.

"I think he likes you; you praised Puss for his loyalty to Sakura after all," Kakashi replied cheerfully.

Now was not the time to rebuke Kakashi for oh-so creatively naming the sand-cat; Itachi was supposed to be on his way to stop Kabuto's Edo Tensei if the intel had not been false – Sakura was not going to let anything get in the way of such an important mission.

"Mr. Fluffy-kins," she pitched her voice to a commanding whisper, "Come back down."

Instead, it was Itachi who wrapped both hands just under the sand-cat's forelegs before he lifted it away from his body. He then held it up, eyes fixed on Sakura who knew she should be doing something more than just gaping at them.

Fortunately, Naruto remedied the situation by subtly nudging her – enough to push her unsteadily to her feet.

"My apologies, Itachi-san," Sakura took the sand-cat from him, still not quite able to meet his gaze.

When she finally looked up, Itachi was gone. It was as if he had never came by their camp and talked to them in her first non-threatening encounter with the deadliest (well, probably second deadliest now that Madara was alive) Uchiha ever.

Frankly, it was all a bit surreal.

But Sakura bore no grudge against Itachi; he had to have made a detour to deliver his message – at a cost to his own mission. The serious nature of a likely clash with the White Zetsus was something that could only be conveyed by an actual person instead of an animal summon.

She just hoped that Itachi did not jinx them by painting the possible future for their mission.

* * *

><p>Uchiha Itachi was officially a jinx.<p>

Ever attuned to the slightest fluctuations in chakra due to her pulling the emergency shift back in Konoha, the sudden burst of killing intent coming right at them at Sakura jumping out of her bedroll so quickly, she almost tripped herself getting out.

That which really startled her, however, was the fact that the killing intent was coming from Naruto.

Or more specifically, someone bearing Naruto's chakra signature.

"Lee-kun!" She whispered, following the drill that Kakashi them going over during their entire trek.

A blur of green in the dark, and she was back-to-back with Lee while the sand-cat crouched next to her. Glancing around quickly, she saw that Kakashi and Gai had paired off as well, and Naruto's entire body was almost completely eaten by his intense chakra glow.

"We are surrounded," said Kakashi – the wrinkling of his forehead barely visible in the nearing dawn.

"Surrounded? But our perimeters have foreign chakra detection fields as w… oh."

If the White Zetsus was advancing on them while posing as Naruto clones, their chakra-mimicking ability would make allowed them to pass into the camp without setting off any alarms. Warding the camp against the Kyuubi jinchuuriki's chakra made no sense even after Itachi's warning; Naruto's chakra levels were so high that the slightest spike would have set off all their alarms.

"How many?"

"About two hundred."

And Sakura thought waking up in the morning with one Naruto hanging upside-down outside her window was bad.

The first of the clones moved into the light of the clearing with no hesitance, a perfect copy of Naruto's appearance from just before the war. The only dead giveaway was the unnatural grin of malice plastered on the clone's face.

Not that it mattered – infiltration of the ranks was probably not amongst their orders, given that there was just one Nine-Tails Mode Naruto, and two hundred normally-attired Narutos.

The White Zetsu clones could copy everything about a person's physical appearance flawlessly, but there was one thing they could not copy – a jinchuuriki's bijuu. Aside from the fact that a bijuu was not a suitable DNA candidate for cloning, they could not copy anything based on a bijuu's chakra, and that ruled out any bijuu-related jutsus.

Cold comfort at best, seeing how strong Naruto was even before he learnt to wield his Nine-Tails Mode.

Sakura crossed her fingers mentally, praying extra-hard that they would not be getting over two hundred Rasengans in the face anytime soon.

"Careless."

"Reckless."

"Your chakra fed us well."

"Now you will all perish at the hands of a familiar face."

Naruto, who was standing next to Killer Bee, crossed his arms and answered with a too-serious expression, "You guys sound like something out of a zombie flick, and not the good B-movie kind either."

The numerous Naruto clones turned towards each other, a few scratching their heads in bafflement.

_Yep, definitely not the good kind._

"That doesn't matter," declared one clone – presumably the lead White Zetsu, "Your futile attempts at wiping us out has given Madara more than enough opportunities to analyse your abilities. He has taken the other six bijuus to a new base; all your work has been in vain."

The good news: Naruto and Killer Bee were presently too much for Madara to handle and he chose to avoid a confrontation with them.

The bad news: everything that they did in the past month had been for absolutely nothing; there was no need to secure bases closer to the presumed Akatsuki base, now that Madara has abandoned it, and an even less of a need for them to be surrounded by a horde of sneering Narutos.

Naruto and Killer Bee were safe – they needed to be taken back alive for Madara to extract the bijuus from them.

From the way the Naruto army was tightening their circle around them, Sakura figured that the rest of them? Were pretty much expendable.

"Bro, I can't punch those White Zetsus, even if it is just a genjutsu," Killer Bee looked somewhat confounded by their situation.

The real Naruto simply grinned up at him and jabbed a thumb backwards, saying, "Then watch the masters at work."

Killer Bee turned around just in time to see six or seven of the clones sent flying back into the forest, courtesy of Sakura's chakra-infused punch.

"Tsk, Sakura-chan, don't keep all the fun to yourself," chuckled Kakashi as he too-casually sliced through a clone with his lightning blade.

The ease with which Sakura and Kakashi took to unleashing their full power against the Naruto clones gave them pause; Madara had calculated that the Kyuubi jinchuuriki – beloved as he is by his teammates – would make the Allied Shinobi Forced less willing to cut down even an enemy wearing his skin.

Clearly, Madara did not know about Sakura's daily abuse of Naruto, and Kakashi's not-so-secret desire to get back at Naruto for the years of suffering as first his teacher, and subsequently as his team leader.

Lee at least had the decency to feel bad about beating up a Naruto clone – he winced and muttered apologies as he knocked out yet another of the clones.

It did not take long for the White Zetsu clones to realise that posing as Naruto was not impeding their attackers. On the contrary, some of Naruto's teammates seemed well at ease with the beat-down; the others appeared outraged at this attempt to target their emotional attachment to the Kyuubi jinchuuriki.

They only really needed Naruto's chakra signature to sneak past the perimeter traps, anyway.

As if by silent agreement, the White Zetsu clones dropped their clone appearance in one felled swoop. In the blink of an eye, the sea of orange disappeared, only to be replaced by an army of whitish, tree bark-like skinned shinobis.

"Giving up already?" Kakashi asked one of them conversationally as he easily side-stepped a punch.

The White Zetsu said nothing, but the faintest whispers of branches twisting caused Kakashi to whip his head around.

He _barely_ dodged the grossly-enlarged arm that was retracted back.

Alright, so the White Zetsus' usual appearance gave them certain unique abilities, and Kakashi knew he had to warn the rest of his team about it.

One lightning blade, bisecting the White Zetsu's arm from lower forearm to shoulder, coupled with the angry sound of splintering wood and Zetsu's shriek of pain, and Kakashi ended up calling the attention of every bipedal being within their campsite.

A dangerous mistake.

Lee and Sakura dove in separate directions, just in time to avoid being pummeled into the ground by a matching pair of tree-like fists. The sand-cat transformed into a cloud of sand and moved to hover over Sakura's shoulder, slowly and menacingly.

There was a sickening snap – a noise that any shinobi would be all-too familiar with. Sakura did not need to look to know that Gai had just broke the neck of a White Zetsu with deadly precision.

This was a war.

Their duty here was straightforward: to live and fight another day.

Deliberately moving away from Gai's direction, Sakura readied her fist as she charged straight for a mob of White Zetsus still hanging around the outskirts of their campsite. The cloud of sand picked up speed and shot right for the White Zetsus, erupting into a cloudburst of sand in their faces.

Sakura wasted no time in delivering her follow-through; the closest White Zetsu must have at least broken six or seven ribs, and the furthest from her was fighting the vestiges of a mild concussion.

She wanted to move in – to finish the job. However, something, or more specifically, someone was yelling at her in her mind.

"_A medic-nin is always the last to fall in battle. Their duty is to save lives, and they cannot do that if they are dead or drained of chakra."_

Sakura was suddenly very much aware of Katsuyu's chakra signature emitting from the small space between her collar and her neck. As an animal summon, Katsuyu had her own unique signature. However, the slug's blood contract with Tsunade also meant that they each carried a bit of the other's chakra signature as a result.

Simply put, it felt as if Tsunade was about to grab her by her ear to give her a good telling-off for wasting her chakra as a combatant instead of a medic-nin.

Sakura knew she had to swallow her pride, and let the others deliver most of the ensuing carnage.

Imperceptibly, she withdrew the chakra that she had been channeling into her fists and forced them back to her reserves.

_For the good of the team._

A kunai readied in her hand, Sakura dove back to Lee's side. Her actions earned her a curious tilt of the head from the green-clad shinobi, but his attention was almost immediately drawn back to a pair of flanking White Zetsus.

Sakura cut down the one on her left; Lee knocked over the one on his right.

Weeks and months later, Sakura would still curse herself for not driving the blade deep enough.

The shinobi's kunai was tempered and forged for deadly throwing precision and could be used as a slashing tool in a pinch. But unlike a sword, it was a disposable piece of equipment, discarded by the dozens in a single fight. Its single sharp point, lacking the force of a throw driven by an entire body behind it, coupled with the White Zetsu's bark-like skin, meant that all that White Zetsu took was the force of Sakura's regular arm strength – a rip in his flesh that looked deeper than it was thanks to the folds and recesses in his skin.

As a result, Sakura took his collapsing act – hook, line and sinker – and was already moving in the opposite direction to assist Lee.

Her back: completely exposed and unguarded.

"Sakura!" Kakashi did not even bother to shout out the suffix he always added to her name – time was of the essence.

The pink-haired kunoichi whipped her head in her former sensei's direction, and she caught the White Zetsu that she _thought_ she had slew coming at her in her peripheral vision.

With a twist of her upper body practiced a thousand times, Sakura propelled herself to face the charging White Zetsu. Her momentum was carried in her heels, however, and that left her momentarily unbalanced.

That moment was all that White Zetsu needed, as he transformed one arm into a fine-pointed lance.

A spear of sand instantly formed and threw itself at the White Zetsu, successfully goring him in the side. The White Zetsu did not manage to stop his surprised shout of pain.

Sakura flinched and gasped silently, but not in empathy.

The sand-cat was fast, but not fast enough; Sakura realised that when she looked down to see a blossoming patch of darkness in her abdomen, in approximately the same region as where the sand-cat had stabbed the White Zetsu.

And when the White Zetsu collapsed for good this time, his still-embedded arm in Sakura's side shifted along with him.

Her blood beating in her ears louder than she had ever remembered, Sakura was vaguely aware that Zetsu must have jousted or even pierced one of her organs – the pain of a muscle or cavity tear would never have been this intense.

As her world faded to blissfully painless darkness, she barely registered Naruto's angry roar and his rippling yellow-orange chakra cloak glowing brighter than the now-risen sun.


	33. Chapter 33

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

Alas, I was hoping that we would have broken 1,000 reviews by the previous chapter. And the lack of long reviews makes me doubly sad.

* * *

><p>When the smell of disinfectants and medical cots stirred her senses, Sakura's first thought was: <em>hospital.<em>

Her second thought was: _yay, that means I'm not dead!_

Her following thoughts were a mish-mash of wondering about the fate of her teammates, how careless she had been, how she got to the hospital, and _oh, stars, Tsunade-shishou is going to murder me for failing my mission!_

In the midst of her mental arm-flailing, coupled with the soothing familiarity of her surroundings, Sakura was wonderfully unaware of the commotion that she was causing as she unconsciously exhibited signs of waking from her medically-induced sleep.

The medic-nin whom just happened to be in her tent to take her readings never knew what hit him when he popped out of her tent to announce to the small crowd outside that Sakura was awake.

He was given two days of medical leave, but the trample marks on his body would take a little longer to fade completely.

The commotion, paired with her dawning realisation that she was hooked up to at least two drips of sorts, only made Sakura want to open her eyes less.

Luckily, Ino was there to rectify that little problem: by throwing her arms around Sakura's torso and giving her one of their patented girl-meeting hugs.

"Forehead-girl, you idiot! You almost got yourself killed! What the heck were you doing to get all messed-up like that?!" Only the slight quiver in Ino's voice gave away the fact that she would have already burst into tears if it was not for the crowd with them.

Sakura knew she had to say something; it was the least she could do. Literally.

"S-rank mission, Ino. You know I can't tell you what happened." she tried to smile, but it came out lop-sided and a frankly, little creepy-looking.

Blinking to clear away the grogginess from her long sleep, Sakura looked around the room slowly, allowing each figure to come into focus before moving onto the next one.

Shikamaru was standing along the edge of the crowd. From his closed eyes and the expression of deep concentration written across his face, Sakura surmised that he was probably sending a message back to the Intelligence Division to inform the Hokage that her apprentice was finally back in the land of the living.

Not a very pleasant prospect to look forward to.

Lee's presence immediately set alarm bells off in her head: was the rest of the team okay? Was anyone seriously injured aside from her? What happened after she passed out? Where were they now?

Fortunately, Lee noticed her distress, correctly guessed the storm of questions she was mentally tossing out, and silently mouthed, "Everyone is safe."

She did not know what was Sai doing in her tent, but in light of the war, Sakura was glad that at least one of her many friends could be accounted for.

There was a conspicuous lack of Sand Siblings, or more importantly, the absence of her boyfriend (Sakura was still trying to wrap her head around that concept). But again, she chalked it up to the ongoing war. Rationally, she knew the Regimental Leader had far more important things to do than to wait around outside his medic's tent for her to awake from surgery.

That did not stop her from feeling disheartened to not find him close by, though.

At least they thought to send Baki, who was watching her and the tent's occupants like a hawk.

Also: no Mr. Fluffy-kins.

"Mr. Fluffy-kins?" Sakura directed her question to everyone in the general vicinity.

Baki took a step forward, coughed into his fist, and replied, "Kazekage-sama has him, Sakura-san."

There was something off about his tone, and the manner in which he was deliberately avoiding Sakura's eyes only served to unsettle her more.

"What about Naruto and the others? Are they alright?" Sakura was becoming more alert now, driven by the adrenaline now pumping in her system.

To make matters worse, everyone in the tent suddenly started looking to each other, as if wondering who should be the one to provide Sakura with the answers she was asking for; it was setting her on the edge. If Sakura was not still sluggish from her sedation, she would have kicked something or punched someone by now in frustration.

"Ino, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be by Kazekage-sama's side as long as he is at the camp?"

Ino had somehow acquired Hinata's habit of tapping her pointer fingers together in obvious nervousness. "Well, you see… erm… how should I…"

A thunderous clap of palms, followed by the unmistakable command of: "Okay, everybody out. Now."

_Shishou._

As if on cue, everyone parted to create a direct path from the tent's entrance towards Sakura's bed. Tsunade had her hands on both hips, and the aura of authority enveloping her marked her even more distinctly as the highest-ranking shinobi in the Land of Fire.

"Out, out," hissed Sakura to Ino who was frozen on the spot; the last thing she needed was for anyone to be caught in the crossfire.

Tsunade's scowl deepened; the tent emptied out in an exodus of panicked footsteps.

By the time Tsunade turned to face Sakura full-on, she realised that she had been trying to shove herself _into_ the medic cot.

The blonde Hokage strode over to Sakura's bedside, pretending not to have noticed how she had just scared the living daylights out of a handful of battle-hardened shinobis – her own apprentice included.

Sakura tried her best to maintain eye contact with Tsunade, but broke it on reflex when the Hokage plopped herself down on the edge of the bed.

_Here it comes._

"A ruptured kidney," began Tsunade, arms folded across her chest as she leveled Sakura with a professional medic's gaze and tone, "You were extremely lucky that the clone did not pierce clean through you, and that Naruto actually remembered some of the emergency medical care knowledge you have drilled into him; he broke the White Zetsu's arm off instead of pulling it out and that stopped you from bleeding out while he carried you back here to the medic base."

Sakura's hand unconsciously moved to gently press against her wound – the bolt of sharp, searing pain hit her harder than she expected.

But what stung more was the realisation of how easily she was taken down in a fight, and how she had to play the role of the damsel in distress.

There was no use in running through the may-bes of if she was able to fight as a regular combatant rather than a medic-nin – she was assigned to be the medic-nin of the team, and even if she was given the go-ahead to use her chakra to fight, there would always be a part of her fretting over the possibility of a teammate being injured and how her chakra drain would have damned him to unnecessary pain and probably even… death.

Still, a punctured kidney was not an immediately fatal condition; Sakura had survived and continued fighting on her feet even when she was stabbed clean-through by Sasori. What made this injury so different that she had blacked out almost instantly?

Tsunade's gaze softened when she noticed a tear slip from Sakura's squeezed-shut eyes. After watching Sakura's growth as a medic-nin over the years, Tsunade did not have to guess that she was probably beating herself up mentally for getting injured on such a crucial mission.

"It was not just a punctured organ, Sakura," Tsunade said kindly, correctly reading Sakura's thoughts as she shifted closer to her student, "Katsuyu had to deploy some of her healing abilities while you were being transported back – the bit of Zetsu embedded inside you was somehow alive and growing, your insides were still being pierced and torn afresh when Naruto arrived with you; it took Shizune over eight hours just to completely remove any foreign presence in you before we could even begin healing you. I cannot imagine anyone staying conscious when under such physical stress."

Sakura shook her head, scowling, "I should have noticed this when we were doing the autopsy on the White Zetsu clone all those weeks ago, then. It's my fault for missing his ability to spontaneously grow and change his body parts into weapons."

"No, _we_ should have noticed this. We were all so caught up in trying to tell apart the clones from our own numbers that we missed that chance to study the physiology of the White Zetsu clones.

"Furthermore, neither Naruto nor Killer Bee-san reported any such abilities being displayed by the White Zetsu bases that they had been clearing out. It is not too far-fetched to assume that Akatsuki planned to play this as their trump card. They might have intended to play this hand against us once they whittle down our numbers."

"… Or they could have only recently developed this ability," Sakura muttered glumly.

Tsunade cocked an eyebrow, and asked, "What makes you say that?"

Sakura twisted the sheets in her fists, the self-reprimanding in her eyes giving way to something more serious; more angry.

"When Kakashi-sensei took down one of the White Zetsu clones that had grown its arm, the pattern of twisting and knotting in the bisection was very similar to how Yamato-taichou grew wood from ground-up," she clenched her fists, forcing herself to say the next thoughts in her head, "They are displaying more and more of Yamato-taichou's Wood Release Technique. I don't know if that means that they have completely assimilated taichou into whatever cloning device or technique they came up with, but it can't be anything good."

Both of them knew what Sakura was really trying to say:

_I don't know if Yamato-taichou is still alive, or have they already accidentally killed him by draining too much from him._

"We will know the answer soon enough."

"Oh?"

"The Kazekage has mobilised half of all current and reservist ANBU to assist Naruto and Killer Bee in wiping out the remaining White Zetsu bases," Tsunade turned to Sakura with a knowing smirk that bode no good news, "Gaara himself is away, leading the Ambush Squad on the same mission with the aim of meeting Naruto at the abandoned Akatsuki base to secure it and retrieve whatever intelligence they can. But most importantly, they want to eliminate the source of the clones once and for all."

Tsunade leaned in close and grinned at Sakura, "I think we all know why the Kazekage dropped everything and decided to lead a team personally, especially since Naruto sent the Hachibi-form of Killer Bee to drop in on the 4th Division to relay news of your injuries."

And really, a gigantic, bull-headed octopus creature storming into a shinobi camp during war time, rapping out his reason for setting everyone's nerves on the edges, was just adding fuel to the fire.

Sakura supposed Killer Bee probably moved a lot faster in his Hachibi form, and Naruto must have meant well when sending his fellow jinchuuriki to inform his best friend.

It was over-the-top.

It was nevertheless effective (she grudgingly admitted that a bijuus sudden appearance would get _any_ message across).

It was just. So. Naruto.

The blonde Hokage was positively enjoying the situation now, not that Sakura was in any mood to appreciate the absence of the reprimanding that she had been dreading.

"Now, as you know," Tsunade was, strangely enough, starting to sound a little like Ino, "The War Council has agreed that all our combined ANBU forces will masquerade as regular, jounin-level shinobis for the duration of the war, and we have deployed them evenly across all Divisions in case of emergencies. Only the War Council had absolute authority to command the ANBU to mobilise them for the war – for them to go in during the final assault and do the unspeakable.

"I have no idea what Naruto had Killer Bee say to Gaara, but the next thing the War Council knew, the Kazekage had arrived with his proxy Commander and laid out a full strategy on how they planned to flush the White Zetsus and destroy them for good."

Tsunade tapped her lower lip, rolling her eyes back as if recalling something, then said, "I believe the Kazekage's exact words were 'the gloves are now off'."

_Shikamaru pointed at the red crosses dotting the spread-out map, saying, "These are the known White Zetsu bases that Naruto and Killer Bee-san has eliminated. Based on this information, Kazekage-sama had me calculate the possible locations of the other bases. There appears to be a pattern to their locations, and I've marked them out in green."_

_A looked from Shikamaru to Gaara, then back again. Finally, he spoke up, "So you are saying you want to assist the Kyuubi jinchuuriki and my brother in wiping out the White Zetsu bases. But we have already eliminated most of the assassination threats from among our own shinobis. I cannot allow the reckless deployment of our most powerful shinobis against such a mild threat."_

_Shikamaru sneaked a look at Gaara –the Kazekage's arms were crossed, and his knuckles were deadly pale; Witnessing the rage of Suna's Ultimate Weapon was not something he was keen on again._

"_The issue is not so simple, Honorable Kages," explained Shikamaru, "Based on the field report by Naruto and Killer Bee-san, the clones seem to have evolved, and are displaying the rare Wood Release Technique in a lethal manner. We have lost too many lightning element shinobis in this war already, and since lightning is wood's only weakness, we are setting ourselves up for a crushing defeat if we do not eliminate this threat for good."_

_But A was having none of that. Instead, he turned his steely gaze to Gaara and pointed at him, saying, "And are you going to tell me that this sudden change in our plans has nothing to do with the fact that your personal medic was nearly killed by one of the clones?"_

_Gaara, Fifth Kazekage and Regimental Leader of the Allied Shinobi Forces, decided to prove that he could be as brutally blunt towards another Kage as he was with his own Senior Council:_

"_This has everything to do with Haruno-san. She is arguably the best medic-nin to have come out of any of the Five Shinobi Nations in the past decade, and Hokage-sama has informed me that even as we speak, she is fighting for her life. The cause is a stab wound – something that every shinobi should be able to shrug off; Haruno-san did not even have the chance to begin healing her injury before it incapacitated her, and she is not an ordinary shinobi to begin with," Gaara's words were clearly directed at the Raikage, "Do not forget Haruno-san's position as an apprentice to the last of the Legendary Sannin. This is an unforgivable insult; the gloves are now off. Nara-san will now give the War Council the necessary rundown on the manpower we need to pull off this assault."_

_Then Gaara turned on his heel, and promptly swept out of the room. His message was clear: he would not be dissuaded from his course of action, and anyone who might attempt to do so is likely to find themselves in a potentially lethal and very sandy situation._

_A sound of palms meeting a tabletop violently, followed by a slow, splintering creak. Oonoki and A turned in time to see Tsunade rising from her seat at the War Council's table, the portion in front of her clearly damaged beyond repair._

"_Shikamaru," Tsunade's tone was enough to make the Nara prodigy flinch, "By the power vested in me as Kage of Konohagakure, I hereby give you my formal consent to utilise whatever manpower you need from amongst our own shinobis. If the other Kages will not offer their shinobis for this long-overdue mission, bring it to my attention immediately. I shall speak to the Mizukage personally."_

"_Yes, Hokage-sama," Shikamaru mentally shook his head to clear away the visions of his own mother – the Nara matriarch more often than not stated her terms, and gave whoever that was on the receiving end no choice to refuse her. And more worryingly, the Hokage had one huge advantage over his mother: Tsunade could put him six feet under with just a touch of her pinky, and there would be no maternal guilt over the act._

_Oonoki closed his eyes and stroked his beard contemplatively, and finally spoke up, "I suggest we go along with this madness, Raikage-sama. It is apparent that the power of young love can inspire much bodily harm, and to destroy such a bothersome enemy once and for all will be the icing on the cake."_

_A's glare turned positively murderous._

"_You… you crazy old coot! You talk as if the power of love can solve everything all the time. When this war is over, I swear, I am going to pay your village a visit, and I'm going to make sure they elect a new, younger Kage instead of letting a senile old fool like you rule under the influence of your second childhood!"_

"… _Who are you calling old, Raikage-sama…?"_

* * *

><p>Sakura gawped. Like a fish out of water.<p>

'Haruno Sakura: The Face that Wiped Out the White Zetsu Army' certainly had a ring to it.

"Close your mouth, Sakura."

Sakura struggled to find her voice, "Shishou, if I may ask, how long have I been out for?"

She _needed_ to know how long this craziness has been going on for, and Tsunade was happy to oblige.

"Well, you were brought in five days ago, and have been placed in a medically-induced sleep for the following seventy-two hours. However, your body decided that it needed longer to recover and you didn't wake up on time, thus the little gathering outside of your tent."

It was nice to know that her friends were worried enough about her to drop whatever they were doing to keep vigil on her, even if there was that small part of Sakura now giving her a guilt-trip on worrying everyone.

And it did explain Ino's presence: the Kazekage was away, and he never felt the need to keep a medic by his side at all times.

_Especially not Ino – she'll talk his ears off._ Sakura concluded with a silent giggle.

But just as quickly, she sobered up and asked the question Tsunade knew she was dying to ask – "Is there any news from Naruto or the others on the mission?"

Okay, perhaps Tsunade was expecting something more along the lines of "is Gaara safe?", but she knew that the tent fabrics were thin, and Sakura had to keep her affections towards the Kazekage a secret from prying eyes and ears.

As if every shinobi and their dog did not already have their own speculations about the Regimental Leader and his personal medic.

"The latest report came in just as Shikamaru informed me that you were awake. It seems like they have located the abandoned Akatsuki base, and were ready to breach and takeover the base."

"And the casualties?"

"Much fewer than expected. Naruto had a day's head start compared to the ANBU and cleared out most of the clones before our men even had a chance to get to them," Tsunade crossed her arms under her ample bosom, huffing, "I don't even know why we bothered to send the ANBU with him if they're left to pick up his scraps.

"Killer Bee-san and the Kazekage moved in from a different direction with the Ambush Squad, and they encountered a number of White Zetsu bases as well, but not as many since they took the over-sea route to meet up with Naruto."

"Shishou," Sakura found herself interrupting, but knew she had to, "You did not inform the Kazekage that I'm awake, did you? Because I don't want him to be distracted by anything while he's out on the frontlines, and I certainly do not want him to come rushing back and wasting his chakra reserves in the process of that."

Tsunade smiled softly; trust Sakura to think more like a medic than a patient even in her situation.

Assigning Sakura to Gaara as his personal medic was a correct decision, even if Tsunade was now faced with the prospects of a major political shift in power, seeing how her apprentice was dating a Kage.

Once the war is over, the political arena will become a new battleground for the Five Shinobi Nations. Although she was certain that her fellow Kages would not object to the individuals involved, they and their councilmen would no doubt raise a ruckus about the implications of the strongest Shinobi Nation developing such close ties with another nation.

Then again, Tsunade knew that the title of 'Hokage' was a magnet for trouble to begin with.

"He will be informed in due time, Sakura. Now, let's have a look at how your wound is getting along, shall we?"

* * *

><p>It took Gaara a good thirty-eight hours and twelve minutes to finally arrive at the medic base.<p>

Not that Sakura was keeping count, or anything.

And she certainly was not on pins and needles since twenty-one hours ago when Shizune and a platoon of jounin-level medics were suddenly called away to rendezvous at the abandoned Akatsuki base; Shizune did not leave the base unless her extraordinary medical skills were called upon, and this was the first time she was called away to be on the field in the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Even if Tsunade had not banned her from consuming stimulants such as coffee, Sakura found she was unable to sleep the entire time, twitchy as she was.

She missed Mr Fluffy-kins pressed against her neck, purring her to sleep.

She missed the Kazekage's robes that she donned in the privacy of her own tent to keep warm; the medic base blankets were itchy and stained in disturbing places.

But most of all, she missed _him_.

So when a hush fell over the medic base, and the shinobis milling about started to speak in politer tones, Sakura could not stop her heart from practically bursting out of her chest.

In the end, she did the next best thing to calm her frazzled nerves – she curled under her blanket and feigned sleep.

There was an oh-so familiar flare of chakra from outside the tent, but Sakura simply swallowed and squeezed her eyes shut a little harder.

Gaara hesitated outside, as if he did not know if he should enter the tent or not given that he had received no response from Sakura.

Finally, the need to see Sakura, face-to-face after fourteen whole days apart, won out; Gaara lifted the tent flap and walked in, his footsteps ever so quiet. Then he was next to Sakura bed, his presence looming over her and almost forcing Sakura to open her mouth and demand that he said something instead of being so mysteriously quiet.

What Gaara did next shut Sakura's brain processes down completely.

There was a soft "thud" and a rustle of the tent fabric, leading Sakura to assume that Gaara had taken off his gourd and was going to sit down on the edge of her cot. Gaara did that, and much more – he carefully sat down besides Sakura, lifted his legs onto the cot, and very, very slow, shifted himself entirely onto the cot.

Sakura promptly stopped breathing when Gaara laid himself down beside her and placed a hand on her unhurt side, then gently folded Sakura against his curled up form. He nosed her jawline, careful not to rouse her from her (pretend) sleep, lips placed tenderly over her pulse as if to reassure himself of her being alive.

_Oh my stars, Gaara is spooning me…!_

Sakura also had the sinking feeling that Gaara knew she was pretending to be asleep, but decided not to call her out on it.

Perhaps she was being punished, in some twisted manner.

Gaara pressed his chest a little closer against Sakura's back.

Sakura's shoulder gave an involuntary twitch.

The jig was up.

"Kazekage-sama?" she asked, faking a sleep-laced voice as she turned her neck slightly.

Gaara's brush of lips against her pulse point did _not _just send a shiver down her spine.

"We can dispense with the formalities, Sakura; I have a dome of sand erected around the outside of your tent."

Sakura first concern was: airholes.

Her subsequent concern was: the Kazekage just barricaded himself in with his _female_ personal medic, and the evidence was sitting right outside.

People would soon be chopping down the Rumour Forest to house an entire village with it, and the villagers would spread their gossip far and wide while riding on the fancy horse-carts made from the trees.

Sakura's train of thought, however, was nicely derailed when the enclosed space that she was now in alerted her to a strong scent in the tent aside from that of cold surgical steel and medicine. She would have sat right up if Gaara's arms around her did not prevent her from doing so.

"Gaara, are you injured?" She could not mask the worry in her voice as she struggled slightly against his hold.

Gaara responded by tightening his arms a little more around Sakura, not wanting her to agitate her wounds, and replied calmly, "It's not my blood."

Sakura did not know if she should be feeling relieved that Gaara was unharmed, feeling flattered that Gaara decided she was more important than a change of clothes, or just outright panic over the very sudden and unexpected development in their physical relationship.

Gaara. Was. Still. Spooning. Her.

Sakura needed something to distract her from Gaara's tickling breath on her neck. Anything.

"What happened during the mission, Gaara? Shizune nee-san was summoned, and you don't mobilise the head of the medic corps unless it was close to a pandemic situation."

She could feel Gaara's adam's apple bob against the back of her shoulder, followed by his quiet answer, "We located a Konoha shinobi who has been missing since before the war started. Naruto referred to him as 'Yamato-taichou'."

Sakura's blood turned ice-cold.

"Akatsuki was using him in the cloning process of the White Zetsus. It was a massive, tree-like structure located underneath the now-abandoned base. I don't think they could have moved the structure, or even if they could, have moved it before we got to them.

"The medics with us did not possess sufficient skill to safely remove Yamato-san from the structure; he has been kept alive but comatose for a very long time through the infusion of foreign chakra, and to remove him from his life support system without the required know-how was going to kill him. I summoned for Shizune-san, informed her of our findings, and she is currently working with a team of her best medics to find a way to remove Yamato-san safely and bring him back for healing.

"I have ordered the cloning device to be thoroughly dismantled. A sample will be brought back for study by the Intelligence Division, but from the complexity of the structure and the need for Yamato-san to be part of the cloning process, I am confident that we have seen the last of the White Zetsu armies."

Even without wishful thinking or romanticised ideas, Sakura found it hard to believe that Gaara would have ordered such a mission if she had not been injured badly enough for the Hokage and her first apprentice to attend to her personally.

"I'm sorry for making you worry, Gaara," her voice was soft and steady, "But they had to remove the bit of Zetsu that was growing inside me, and the procedure required me to be placed under a medically-induced sleep."

Gaara, unfathomably, went completely rigid behind her.

"Gaara, it's not as serious as it's sounds. Zetsu…"

Gaara sat up abruptly, then promptly placed both arms by the sides of Sakura's head. He was careful to avoid putting any weight on her abdominal area, but that was not Sakura's concern at the moment.

She was startled by how _murderous_ Gaara's eyes were there and then.

"Zetsu _impregnated_ you?"

Sakura's jaw fell wide open.

She decided that the next time a medic-nin came to check up on her, she would ask for her hearing to be tested.

"I beg your pa…"

"I asked: did Zetsu violate the Kazehime?"

Sakura would have burst out laughing if Gaara did not look ready to go charging out of her tent like an enraged bull to wipe out all of Akatsuki single-handedly.

"Gaara, you misunderstood," Sakura quickly clasped both hands against his cheek to stop him from running his mouth off, "I was pierced in the kidney by a White Zetsu clone, and for some reason, like some sort of plant, it continued to grow inside of me. The only way to remove it without my chakra system tangling with it was for Shizune nee-san to place me under a medically-induced sleep."

Gaara stared owlishly at her.

"It was a part of Zetsu's arm," she elaborated, just in case Gaara started wondering which part of Zetsu's body was previously embedded inside her.

Gaara exhaled long and loud like a deflating balloon, and then rolled over to lie next to Sakura once more.

Only this time, he was facing her.

"No one who tries to take advantage of the Kazehime will be allowed to live," he reached over to caress her cheek, making Sakura blush, "That shall be the privilege of the Kazekage alone. Always."

Before Sakura's brain was completely fried by the fire in her cheeks, she did what she always did best in awkward situations: she diverted the topic.

"Gaara, where is Mr. Fluffy-kins? I was told he went back to you."

At this, Gaara's hand paused. He reached a thumb out to gently massage at her forming eyebags instead.

Almost as if he was trying to avoid the topic.

"Gaara?" Sakura's voice held just the mildest hint of anger.

"He is inside my gourd."

Now Sakura was absolutely certain that she needed to get her hearing tested; from the very first day, the sand-cat had refused to turn back into sand and return to Gaara's gourd, going as far as to hiss in protest if Gaara merely looked ready to command it to do so. As far as the sand-cat was concerned, it was now a living, breathing (well, not so much) creature, with a pink-haired owner that it would protect to the ends of the earth.

Gaara pushed himself up into a sitting position and gestured towards his gourd, saying, "Mun accompanied Killer Bee-san back to inform me of your injuries, and before I could stop him, he turned back into a cloud of sand and slipped back inside my gourd. I've been trying to coax him out without success."

The redhead saw the look of horror etched across Sakura's features, and quickly reassured her, "His consciousness is still in there, but I think he may not want to face you.

"He failed to protect the one he loved most, after all."

Sakura held a hand out, calling her beloved sand-cat's name softly, "It's not your fault, Mr. Fluffy-kins. None of us were prepared for this deadly new ability from the White Zetsus, and by stopping the Zetsu from piercing clean-through me, you actually saved my life.

"Please, please come out, Mr. Fluffy-kins.

"I missed you, and I have never once blamed you for this."

At first, it seemed Sakura's words had fallen on deaf ears. However, the sound of moving sand was detectable from inside the gourd after a moment.

"Please," she pleaded once more.

The gourd's cork popped off quietly, and a tendril of sand rose from the opening almost indecisively. It hovered above the gourd, refusing to move any closer to Sakura.

She forced herself to sit up so she could walk over to the gourd, but before Sakura could lift more than her upper torso off the cot, the tendril of sand whipped over to her side and pushed against her, supporting her back in the process.

"Mr Fluffy-kins…?"

The sand shifted and slowly took the form of a familiar feline once more. But it still did not turn around to face Sakura. Instead, the sand-cat purred half-heartedly from behind her.

"I was… so scared that something had happened to you," a tear slipped from Sakura's eye, but she did not seem to have noticed, "When no one was willing to tell me what happened to you, I thought… thought the White Zetsu…"

She could not finish her sentence.

The sand-cat finally turned its head, glancing guiltily at her. After a pause, it walked over to Sakura's side and pressed its back against her, purring quietly. Sakura placed a hand over its hindquarters and stroked gently, finally feeling relaxed for the first time since Gaara's entrance.

"Sakura," began Gaara, "Can I see your injury?"

The blood drained from Sakura's face, only to be immediately replaced by a very fetching blush.

"I… I… it's nothing serious now, Gaara," nope, she was not nervous at all, "And besides, shishou closed my wound using advanced chakra techniques, so you won't be able to see anything there."

Gaara continued to look at her as if he had not heard a single word; Sakura knew that giving in to this request would help the young Kage feel at ease, knowing that she was in no danger. At least, not one that was visible to the naked eye.

Still blushing madly, Sakura shimmied her thin hospital pants lower to rest mid-way on her hips. Gaara completed the job for her by hooking a finger under the waistband of her undergarments and lowering it enough to see that her kidney region was nicely unblemished.

_Thank you, Ino, for reminding me to toss out any panties with holes in them._

"I am… relieved," Gaara whispered.

And he was starting to snake down the length of her body and oh, stars, he was going to place a kiss over her healed injury.

Sakura could read him like a book, and she was torn between being glad about how far their relationship had evolved, and how this was going to look if anyone saw them.

Fortunately, she received the answer to one question the very next moment.

The sand dome that Gaara had erected around Sakura's tent was an excellent sound barrier, and Gaara himself was currently very distracted by the softness of Sakura's skin, so he was not paying much attention to the world outside, if at all.

A thunderous crash, during which Gaara was not focused enough to strengthen the sand dome, and moments later, the tent, now weighed down by sand, shifted and oh-so-slowly leaned and leaned until it toppled over, quite exposing Gaara and Sakura in the way that it fell.

Tsunade was standing outside, slack-jawed and her fist still raised from punching down the sand dome.

The scene had everything needed for a classical misunderstanding of huge proportions:

Firstly, Gaara just _had_ to erect a privacy screen around the tent of his personal, _female _medic.

Secondly, Sakura was still holding onto the waistband of her pants, which was much lower down than it should be worn.

Thirdly, Gaara was sprawled across her lap, his head positioned near the lower region of her torso.

And finally, the sand-cat was hissing loudly at Gaara for being so close to Sakura physically.

Tsunade, still holding her pose, stated rather bluntly – "No strenuous physical activities for Sakura until I say so."

The lovely denizens of the Rumour Forest, once content to spread their gossip far and wide on their travels, finally discovered the art of paper-making by pulping the wood of the Rumour trees. With this latest invention, they were now able to spread their gossip in the form of pasted words on whichever place they visited, as well as conveying them to faraway friends that they would have otherwise have been unable to communicate with.

Sakura wondered glumly if she would live to see the end of the day, let alone the end of the war.


	34. Chapter 34

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

Additional author's notes:

1) If I have made any typos or grammatical errors, please PM me instead of leaving it in a review. A review is both public and permanent, and it's generally not polite to point out people's faults in a public forum.

2) I have taken a LOT of liberties with Tenten's character, because she has had practically no character development in the manga. I hope my portrayal of her does not offend or upset anyone.

* * *

><p>When Shizune and her medic team returned a little over a day later, she was quite befuddled by the sight of a human-height version of Katsuyu standing guard outside Sakura's tent.<p>

When quizzed about the need for her presence, the slug animal summon twitched a tentacle and said cryptically, "Don't ask."

Luckily for Shizune, there was always another ways of getting information. Namely, from Sakura.

With the pretext of checking on her fellow apprentice's health, Shizune took the clipboard away from the approaching medic-nin and flared her chakra once before walking into the tent.

Sakura was propped up against some pillows, and had only just started to look up from a weighty tome when Shizune stepped in. She was attired in loose-fitting shinobi attire as there was no longer a likelihood of her going under the knife, so to speak. The sand-cat was curled up against her stomach, purring quietly.

All her questions about Yamato-taichou were driven to a screeching halt by Shizune's next words.

"You had sex with the Kazekage in my medic base, didn't you?"

Sakura froze. The sand-cat turned to Shizune and began to wave its tail about slowly, its eyes narrowing.

The shell-shocked kunoichi opened her mouth, tried to force out words that refused to form, and finally closed her mouth before hanging her head down in utter mortification.

"Look, Sakura, it's not that I don't understand the hormonal drive behind teenage romance, but you should know better than to desecrate th…"

"Oh stars, oh STARS," Sakura slapped one hand over her ear, her other hand occupied with keeping the book from falling off the bed while her face turned a most becoming red, "It's not what you think, Shizune nee-san! Please don't tell me you are going to start listening to those rumour mongers!"

Shizune tilted her head curiously, quite ignoring how the sand-cat was now growling, and decided, "So you _tried_ to have sex after all, and that's why Tsunade-sama had to post Katsuyu-sama outside to prevent actual shenanigans from happening. Am I wrong?"

"Yes! No! I mean, you're wrong! Kazekage-same just wanted to see how my injury was coming along and shishou's uncanny timing in punching down the sand dome around the tent led to all the crazy gossip going around; Katsuyu-sama enlarged herself and I don't know why she is stationed outside my tent and I really don't think I want to imagine what is going through her head!"

All Shizune heard from Sakura's ramblings was the part about the Kazekage wanting to check on her wound, which led her to deduce that Sakura must have been in some state of undress when Tsunade chanced upon their sandy little love nest, which in turn led her to deduce that if Tsunade had not interfered, the ever-forward Kazekage would have proceeded onwards to certain physical activities.

It was not as if she was not a teenager once herself, Shizune mused.

In addition, the Fifth Kazekage was well-known to be a man of action over words.

"Ok, Sakura, here is the deal," Shizune held up her hand to prevent Sakura from interrupting her, "I don't care what you and Kazekage-sama do in your spare time together, but I have only two rules: firstly, no sex in the medic base. Secondly, no more love-shack visits from the Kazekage until you are discharged. As long as we can agree on those terms, I will not post my own guards outside your tent.

"I'm going to check on the other patients now, since you seem well on your way to a speedy recovery. Remember what I said."

Shizune left the tent before she could witness Sakura grabbing her pillow to stuff it over her face and scream a string of obscenities in a rather brusque Konoha dialect spoken only by drunkards and pirates.

Sakura quite forgot about her questions on Yamato-taichou's health until she was breathless and blue in the face.

Instead, she found herself with a new set of questions to ponder over from the one person she had not been expecting; mostly because she was too busy dying of humiliation to have noticed the flare of chakra outside her tent.

"Ugly, are you alone in there? I can sense a bit of Kazekage-sama's chakra, and I don't know if that's your cat or if you guys are trying to mask it."

… And now even socially-challenged but the ever-polite Sai was outside her tent, insinuating that he did not want to interrupt a make-out session between her and the Regimental Leader.

"It's just Mr. Fluffy-kins, Sai," Sakura replied with a sigh of resignation.

Taking it as a sign that it was alright to enter, Sai did just that.

On crutches.

"Sai! What happened?" Sakura boggled at the sight of the ink master leaning heavily against his crutches, his entire lower left leg encased in solid plaster.

"I was on the Ambush Squad," smiled Sai, as if that was all the explanation needed for his current condition.

"And they couldn't do chakra-based healing for you on the field or afterwards?" she hissed in annoyance, pushing her book to a corner of her cot and then rapidly gesturing at the chair next to her.

The giant slug chose that moment to poke her head into the tent and said firmly, "You're a patient now, not a medic-nin, Sakura."

_Busted._

"Sorry, Sai," Sakura whispered to him as he sat down after leaning his crutches against the back of his chair.

"I'm fine, Ugly. My bone was temporarily re-set by the field medics, and I asked for the cast afterwards to let my bone heal naturally," that enigmatic smile once more.

Sakura bit on her tongue, not willing to give voice to the thoughts in her head: Sai was subconsciously practicing part of his Root training, where the cadets were expected to let bones heal on their own – the process of it strengthened the bone and made subsequent injuries less likely to occur.

Of course, no one considered the downside of having to live with the damage once their shinobi career was over.

… Then again, Root cadets experienced an astronomical mortality rate due to the elevated dangers of their ANBU-level missions; arthritis and other joint problems were probably not factored in when so few of them lived past their teens.

It was the sound of rustling paper that stirred Sakura from her thoughts, and when she looked up, Sai had his large sketchpad propped up in front of him and was in the process of laying out his drawing instruments on his lap.

"Can you hold your cat for me, Ugly?"

So Sai was going to keep good on his word to draw Sakura with her cat after all.

Sakura wondered if he was really going to draw another woman's face over hers, though; she was no great beauty to be immortalised on canvas, that much she knew, but Sakura hoped that Sai would at least be thoughtful enough to change the look of Mr. Fluffy-kins.

The thought of her cat in another woman's arms… just, no.

Sakura decided to take her train of thought in a different direction, and asked, "Shouldn't you be resting up elsewhere on the base, or back at the 4th Division?"

Sai made a few precursory strokes on the paper with a soft-lead pencil, his eyes looking up briefly to study Sakura as he replied, "I was sent back to the 4th Division to recuperate, but the kunoichis there were too noisy making preparations for the Kazekage's 18th birthday. It's much quieter here."

And that was saying something, seeing how the medic base was filled with patients in various states of vocalised distress and doctors and medics shouting out orders.

… Hang on.

"There's going to be a birthday bash for the Kazekage? In the middle of the war?" Sakura already knew Gaara had mentioned the possibility of it, but the probability of it happening seemed so small that she never considered it something that could turn out real.

_Oh, stars, I don't have a present for Gaara!_

Her internal clock still wrecked from her medically-induced sleep, Sakura had to force herself to mentally re-calculate the number of days before it was Gaara's birthday.

"Stop holding your shoulder so rigid, Ugly," commented Sai, "Not everyone looks photogenic when they are thinking."

Sakura ignored the little voice inside her head to punch Sai upside the head and instead drew a deep breath before resuming her train of thoughts.

… _A little less than four days._

And Sakura was smack in the middle of the Fourth Shinobi World War, still confined to bed rest until Shizune and Tsunade cleared her fit for duty, and literally days away from the nearest retail outlet.

"What are you thinking about?"

Sai's question was so sudden, and so completely unexpected from someone such as him, that Sakura could only stare mutely at his sketching hand.

"It helps the model to relax when she talks," explained Sai.

It was not that she was suffering from an abrupt attack of self-consciousness at being the object of someone's artwork that was causing her inner panic, but Sakura figured that she would have nothing to lose getting some of her worries off her chest. Sai would probably pretend to listen out of politeness, and being able to voice her concerns aloud might just be the trick to working out what to get for Gaara.

Not to mention, _how_ to get whatever she might think up of for him.

"I was just thinking…" Sakura pulled the sand-cat a little closer, "What kind of present do you give a Kage on his eighteenth birthday? I mean, overlooking the part that it's not as important as a coming-of-age present, it still has to be something pretty impressive if you are going to give it to a Kage. And Ga… the Kazekage isn't just the strongest shinobi in his village; he is also the Regimental Leader of the Allied Shinobi Forces. It has to be something befitting of his position."

Sai said nothing, and Sakura took it as a sign that he was going with the pretending-to-listen-while-I-am-really-just-drawin g route. It gave her a strange sense of relief, almost as if she was now given free rein to speak her mind.

"… but more than that, I am his girlfriend. That means I should know his likes and dislikes, and give him something appropriate to signify that I enjoy our time together, but aside from his strange obsession for salted tongues, I have no idea what else he likes. I should ask his sister or someone he is close to, but it feels like a cop-out. We spent so much time talking about this war and about our villages that the things I do know about him seem so trivial: his favourite colour, his hobbies…"

"What would you give me for my birthday?"

Sai's question was so unexpected that Sakura could only blink at him. She realised that he was being completely serious only when his hand stopped and he looked up from his drawing at her.

"Well…" Sakura said, "I know of your artistic side, and I have also noticed that your brushes are starting to show their age; I think I'd first find out what brand of brushes you are using, and get you a new set for your birthday."

"Very practical, Ugly. You don't seem to have that sentimental side that I read about which women are supposed to have."

"Hey!"

Sai went back to his drawing as if he had not heard Sakura's cry of indignation, saying, "But if you did give me a new set of brushes, I will always be reminded of you everytime I use them. That would be a good present if we were dating."

Fortunately, there was no awkward silence as Sai continued drawing – Sakura and he both knew that Sai's physical resemblance to a certain Uchiha male had been a sticking point between them from the very first time they met, and it was the first impressions that counted.

Even if she was not in love with Sasuke from the start, there was no way they would have made a good couple. From the time she spent with Gaara, Sakura came to realise that she needed someone who could match wits with her, and perhaps enjoy a little verbal sparring on the side; Sai's mouth was only good for ticking her off, and there was usually too much collateral damage in the aftermath.

The one good thing about Sai, though, was that he was brutally honest; if he had hated Sakura's idea of a gift for him, he would have been forthright about it.

Case in point:

"I would recommend dressing in something attractive to intrigue the Kazekage, but there is already a bikini battle ongoing. Aside from the lack of originality if you did that, Ugly, it would also be unflattering to see you clothed as such."

"… Wait, what?"

"Some Iwa kunoichis suggested baking a huge cake for the Kazekage's birthday and have one of the kunoichis jump out of it wearing just a bikini. The idea was very appealing to the Suna kunoichis, and they started holding a swimsuit pageant. Kankurou-san was judging the tryouts when I left the 4th Division earlier."

Daytime in the desert was scorching hot, and any sensible person living in such an environment would have to stay covered up. In addition, there was rarely the existent of bodies of water large enough in the desert to justify the need to possess swimwear. And most of the kunoichis in Gaara's fanclubs were teenagers or young women who had the goods to flaunt, so it was only natural that they would vie for the chance to participate in such an… activity.

That was the rational side of Sakura talking.

The irrational side, however, was screaming that some crazy bimbo was going to surprise the still-rather-inexperienced-with-women-romantically Kazekage by leaping out at him in nothing but her skivvies, and Heaven help if a wardrobe malfunction was to occur.

_Oh hell, no! No way would Gaara go with this plan if he knew anything about it!_

Knowing Kankurou, he probably timed the tryouts just when Gaara and Temari were away from camp; Gaara would have vetoed such a waste of resources spent on baking a ridiculously large cake during wartime, and Temari would have thrown a feminist fit about the idea.

It was now apparent that not only did she had to think of a gift for Gaara that was both practical and special to him, but it also had to steal the limelight away from the Suna kunoichis' literally huge surprise.

For one insane moment, Temari's idea of sending Sakura wrapped in nothing but ribbons to her brother seemed like a good plan.

Thank goodness insane moments passed relatively fast for Sakura.

"Here."

Sakura had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she had not realised that Sai had been putting away his drawing tools a minute ago, then detached a page from his sketchbook, and was now holding it out to her face-up.

She reached out and took the paper from him, letting go of the sand-cat in the process to hold the paper upright in front of her. Then Sakura stared.

And stared.

Sai's eyebrows drew closer for just a second before he smiled his trademark smile and said, "I know it's not a masterpiece, Ugly, but you don't have to be so shocked that you can't talk."

"No, no, it's not that," Sakura lowered the drawing slowly, her eyes never leaving the paper, "It's… beautiful, Sai. It's perfect."

And indeed it was: Sai had modified Sakura's pose in the drawing, giving her a serene glow on her face as she held the sand-cat tenderly on her lap. One of her hands was propping her up on the cot, which had been changed to a sofa in Sai's drawing, and her other hand was placed lovingly on the cat's back. The sand-cat itself was the very picture of contentment, and more human than animal from the intelligence shining in its eyes.

"There is no such thing as perfection," commented Sai as he rose from his seat.

"Wait, Sai," Sakura finally looked up at him and shot him a quizzical look, "I thought you said you were going to draw another model's face instead."

Sakura had been expecting Sai to do exactly as he had said; he was too much of a straight-man type to kid about something as important to him as his art.

Sai turned his head towards her and replied, "I was going to, but it didn't look right in my head. I mainly wanted to draw the cat, but I realised it will not look correct on paper if it was not with its real owner."

"… Thank you, Sai. Really."

"You're welcomed, Ugly."

Sai left the tent as silently as he arrived, leaving Sakura to study the drawing. The sand-cat lifted itself a little higher as if to look at the drawing, but having found nothing of interest to it, finally settled back down by Sakura's side to sleep.

Sakura did not know how long she spent just looking at the picture, or more likely, just dumbly holding her posture. She knew Sai had wanted to draw Mr. Fluffy-kins more than he wanted to draw her, but the amount of detail and effort he had put into painting the cat was nothing short of breath-taking.

_Gaara made Mr. Fluffy-kins for me just because I mentioned Harumi. If he had not, I might have died from poisoning with the Ambush Squad; I would have certainly died if the White Zetsu clone tore through my kidney._

She had been given one of the most precious of gifts in her entire life, and Gaara probably did not even know the impact the sand-cat had on her – how was she going to come up with a gift just as meaningful for him?

_Think, Haruno, think – there must be something that is dear to Gaara._

The answer hit her like a bale of hay.

_The stars._

Every chance they had to be together alone, Gaara would take her to that special cliff to watch the stars. Conversation was pleasant, but never necessary between them – not when she saw how mesmerised he was by the glow of the stars above them. And sometimes when she finished changing for bedtime in their tent and Gaara did not return readily, she had poked her head out on those occasions, only to find him with his head tilted backwards and his eyes reflecting the tiny twinkles in the skies. Only those who knew him well enough would know that at such times, the small pull of muscle on his cheek meant he was smiling rather than him being contemplative.

But how do you gift someone the stars?

Then Sai's words came back to her: _I will always be reminded of you everytime I use them._

She might not be able to present him with a real star, but there was _something_ else she could give him that would make star-gazing a more enjoyable experience.

"Mr. Fluffy-kins," she rubbed the sand-cat's back, and it looked up at her to purr in response, "Do you know where I live? Do you think you can take a message back to my family and bring something back for me?"

Born from the Fifth Kazekage's sand on the battlefront, Sakura assumed that the sand-cat had no idea where any of the Five Shinobi Nations were located. Perhaps it would be able to find its way back to Sunagakure, seeing how Gaara molded the cat from his own chakra and the sand-cat had been able to locate him through that connection. However, it had no such chakra connection with Sakura; all it had was a fierce sense of loyalty and devotion towards her. Asking the sand-cat to trace her parents by following her own chakra signature would not work either; an infant would still bear its parents' two distinct chakra signatures, but Sakura was almost an adult and by now, her chakra would have changed itself into something that was uniquely hers.

Sakura's plan was to involve as few people as possible in her rather pathetic attempt at getting a gift for the Kazekage, but she soon gave up and acknowledged that she had to get the help of a certain individual whom had not been holding the Kazekage in the highest regard.

"Sakura?" The slug summon inquired when she emerged from her tent cradling the sand-cat.

"Katsuyu-sama, is it possible for you to please teach Mr. Fluffy-kins how to travel to Konohagakure? I need him to retrieve something from my place for me."

It was probably Sakura's imagination, but she thought she could make out a frown on Katsuyu's featureless face.

"Sakura, I heard about the bikini showfest, and if you're thinking of sending your cat back to bring your bikini here for you…"

"Oh. My. Stars. Katsuyu-sama!" Sakura went from pink to red and finally purple, "I have no interest in trying to impress anyone in my swimwear! I just need to pick up something… else…"

Still somewhat skeptical, Katsuyu nevertheless decided to relent. The skin near her upper torso rippled slightly, and with a soft 'poof', a tiny version of herself popped out from her larger form and landed on Sakura's shoulder. She slithered over to the sand-cat and perched herself on its neck and looked to be whispering into the sand-cat's ears. The sand-cat in turn twitched its ear ever so often; it was feeling rather ticklish.

"Please give this to either of my parents, Mr. Fluffy-kins," said Sakura as she slipped a note into the red ribbon around the sand-cat's neck which she had tied on earlier, watching the interaction of the slug and the cat out of a corner of one eye.

After a few more seconds, the tiny version of Katsuyu pulled back and made her way back onto Sakura's shoulders.

"It now has an imprinting of where Konohagakure is. I'm sorry I can't tell it the detailed layout of our village, Sakura, but it should be able to locate your home by the minute chakra signatures that you have left there from having lived there for so long."

Sakura nodded her thanks to Katsuyu. It was standard protocol to give foreign shinobis only the location of each Hidden Village and never exact locations within the Village; to give trust too easily to a shinobi with possibly malicious intentions was simply not a good idea. Right up till the Fourth Shinobi War, even a visiting Kage had to be escorted to the meeting location. It was an unwritten rule that each Village acknowledged and practiced without complaint.

Although, Sakura was not convinced that they had to go to such an extent for a cat.

… Then again, it was a sand-cat made from the Kazekage's most potent, chakra-infused sand that he always carried with him.

Sakura jumped slightly when the sand-cat rubbed itself against her legs; she was not even aware that it had leapt off her arms. With a reassuring purr, it turned into a cloud of sand, swirled in place for a few moments, and vanished into the winds.

Turning to face the larger version of Katsuyu, Sakura asked, "Do you know where I can find Yamato-taichou, Katsuyu-sama? I can't sense his cha… I mean, I have not heard anything about him since Shizune nee-san returned."

Katsuyu twitched a tentacle to her left while pretending not to notice Sakura's verbal slip-up. A certain medic-nin was supposed to not expend any chakra for the time being until her chakra system repaired the damage that Zetsu's did to hers, but Katsuyu knew a losing battle when she saw one: personality-wise, Sakura was Tsunade's splitting image – especially her stubborn streak.

Sakura turned towards the place that Katsuyu had pointed at, but saw nothing except a few crates lined against a stack of wooden planks. Deciding that the slug summon was not the type to pull a prank, she walked towards the pile of objects.

Then she felt it: the faint hum of a concealment chakra field that prickled along her skin. A moment later, she was able to pick up several powerful chakra signatures, no doubt belonging to ANBU members posted around the genjutsu-cloaked tent.

It made sense in a way – the Intelligence Division came back with a report explaining how the cloning device that Yamato was fuelling worked; the entire structure was overflowing with Wood Element chakra, and since Yamato was the only living shinobi in the entire world left who could wield it, he would be a top-priority recapture target for Akatsuki if they wanted to replenish their White Zetsu army.

Still, there was only so much hiding they could do when Yamato required extensive medical care. This was the best thing they could do under current circumstances. Sakura approached the crates and awkwardly waved her hand, not quite certain if the guards posted outside were going to see her, or let her in for that matter.

To say she was startled was an understatement; Sakura jumped a foot into the air when an invisible hand was placed on her shoulder literally out of nowhere, and felt herself being drawn closer towards the crates. Despite knowing that it was just a genjutsu, Sakura's instincts told her to brace herself for a collision course with the boxes.

"Sakura? Why are you up and about? You should still be resting!"

Sakura didn't realised that she had closed her eyes until a familiar voice jolted them open.

She wished she had not done so.

On a proper hospital bed laid a prone man, so pale and skinny that his ribs could be made out even under the loose-fitting hospital scrubs that he was in. His skin glistened with small scars and marks, made even more prominent by the careful cleaning-up the medic-nins no doubt gave him. Out of the same consideration, someone had combed his hair into a flat mop that made him almost unrecognisable from his usual smiling self.

What shook her the most was the presence of chakra binds restraining Yamato-taichou to the bed; not even an enemy shinobi should be bound as such, and Yamato-taichou looked too weak to even open his eyes, let alone put up a struggle strong enough to require such restrains.

The worst part was that Sakura could not pick up any trace of Yamato's chakra signature; shinobis' chakra signatures vanished without their consent only under certain circumstance, and none of those were good ones.

"Sakura, you shouldn't be here," a familiar voice hissed from behind her.

Sakura whipped around, unable to school the fear written across her features. Standing behind her and gently pressing a hand to her back was Ino, and the Yamanaka female's eyes belied their own unspoken sadness.

"Ino, what happened to Yamato-taichou? He's been all but tied up like a mad dog, but he looks completely out of it!" Sakura hissed back, trying to keep her voice low when a medic-nin near Yamato looked over at them.

"An apt choice of words, Sakura."

"Shishou!"

Despite the ongoing war, Tsunade was still first and foremost known as the best medic-nin in the Five Shinobi Nations; her position as Hokage was pushed aside to let her focus on those who needed advanced medical attention, a sentiment which the other Kages agreed with as squads after squads of shinobis have been sent out, but all came back with absolutely no intel on Madara or Akatsuki.

"Yamato went into a seizure and attacked one of the attending medic-nins. It took four full-grown men to subdue him while doing their best not to worsen his injuries.

I am not going to lie to you, Sakura," Tsunade knew that if she did not open her speech with those words, Sakura would always be trying to sneak a chance to personally examine Yamato afterwards, "Yamato's chakra system has been compromised; I have never seen a shinobi whom has managed to stay alive despite his entire chakra system having been replaced by foreign chakra. That is why you cannot sense Yamato's chakra signature – none of his own chakra remains."

"But that means…" Sakura's eyes slowly widened as she realised the implications of Tsunade's words.

"Yes, he should be dead, under normal circumstances. However, as Yamato is a clone of my grandfather, we are testing a chakra transfusion technique; if his chakra system is able to recognise my blood relation to him, there is a small chance that his body will accept my chakra and use it as a source to re-grow his own chakra pool," Tsunade forced herself to ignore the growing uncertainty within her, simply choosing to say, "Even if we were not using an unverified medical technique, the fact that I am two generations removed from his perfect chakra match…"

"I understand, shishou," Sakura's voice was so soft that Tsunade thought she had imagined her student speaking, "We face the possibility of losing Yamato-taichou even if he receives the best medical care available."

Tsunade did not miss the bitterness in her student's tone of voice.

"This is a war, Haruno Sakura. No death is personal. Naruto is currently under twenty-four hours surveillance to ensure that he does not go running off avenge Yamato. I have ordered him to stay with the 4th Division – hopefully, the preparations for one of his dearest friend's birthday will keep him occupied," Tsunade said, "And I am now ordering you to return to the 4th Division as well to resume your duties as the Kazekage's personal medic. You are officially discharged from the medic base."

Sakura could feel the bile rising in her throat – Tsunade had seen through her intentions to remain on the medic base to watch over Yamato and research for ways to reverse his condition, and she wanted Sakura's mind to be focused on something aside from death and loss; it was something that Sakura had seen too much of in this war already – but she was not going to sit by and wait for news of more lives lost.

However, the idea of sending her off to something as frivolous as a birthday party preparation while her comrades are out spying, fighting and dying… it filled her with shame.

As if having read her mind, Tsunade turned her full attention to Sakura and said firmly, "The Kazekage has been under constant stress since before the start of the war. It is your mission to ensure that we do not lose Gaara as well."

And the idea of losing Gaara… that stung like an unexpected slap on the face, causing Sakura to physically reel back a little.

"Dismissed." Tsunade's command rang out clear as a bell.

* * *

><p>The oversized version of Katsuyu was missing from outside her tent by the time Sakura returned.<p>

Not that it bothered her too much – she still had a smaller version of the slug summon tucked away inside her collar.

Said tiny version of Katsuyu made a squelching sound as if to reassure Sakura, and she patted the side of her collar in acknowledgement.

"My counterpart has already moved your personal belongings back to your tent in the 4th Division, Sakura," clarified Katsuyu, "You should rest until your escort arrives."

Sakura patted her left ear lightly, thinking that she misheard Katsuyu.

"You're going to laugh when I tell you this, Katsuyu-sama," Sakura smiled sheepishly, "But I could have sworn you said we're waiting for my escort back to the 4th Division."

"You heard me correctly, Sakura," Katsuyu quickly continued before Sakura had a chance to interject, "All ranking officers and vital personnel are required to travel with at least one jounin-level guard, now that we have driven Akatsuki and Kabuto into hiding and have no way of predicting what they may do next."

It was not as if Sakura didn't understand the current situation: they have pushed Akatsuki and Kabuto into a corner that was obviously unforeseen by anyone (she certainly did not see her stab wound coming, that was for sure). And desperate men were likely to throw caution to the wind and make a reckless play for any weak links they can find amongst the Allied Shinobi Forces; these new protocols were simply a form of precaution.

That did not mean that she had to like it, though.

"Ready, Sakura?"

The familiar chakra signature stopped Sakura from jumping at the sudden voice. She turned to her left and saw Neji standing a respectful distance away.

"Neji-san?" Sakura's voice carried a hint of confusion, "You aren't with the 4th Division, so that rules you out as my 'escort'. How may I help you?"

Neji actually looked uncomfortable, but only for a moment before he lifted his pupil-less gaze towards Sakura and explained, "We have been consolidating our forces and the 4 Divisions have been merged for now."

More precautions in the face of Gaara's sudden decision to storm the Akatsuki base and wipe out the White Zetsu clones; Sakura could not say that she was feeling particularly sorry about that.

"Additional security was also required for the Kazekage's birthday bash," Neji quipped.

"… Excuse me?"

Neji shook his head and sighed minutely, then said, "I do not think it was the Kazekage's idea to have a birthday celebration. I heard from Shikamaru that it was originally supposed to be a quiet affair involving only the Suna shinobis and a few ranking officers, but somehow, word got out and Hokage-sama declared it to be a double celebration in the face of their recent success with wiping out a good number of Akatsuki forces. It is actually calmer here on the medic base."

"Uh-huh," agreed Sakura skeptically as two injured jounins walked past, all but shouting at the poor civilian doctor who was running after them and insisting that they not leave their tent, "I suppose we should expect to see balloons and banners when we return to camp?"

"They were putting up red streamers around the camp perimeters when I left," deadpanned Neji, "And I'm not certain as to why, but a number of kunoichis were walking around in swimsuits as well."

The silence between them was deafening: Sakura, because she was stunned by the (inappropriate) information-overload, and Neji, because Sakura was gaping like a fish out of water.

"Your personal belongings should have long since been delivered to your tent, Sakura. We should move out before the sun sets," Katsuyu whispered.

"Oh… oh! Right! By your leave, Neji-san," Sakura gestured towards the entrance of the medic base a little awkwardly.

"I am your escort, Sakura. I shall walk by your side, and not ahead of you," Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Right. Let's go."

* * *

><p>It was the longest walk in the history of walking to have ever taken place in the record of mankind.<p>

Or at least, it felt that way to Sakura.

Normally, travelling with Neji was a pleasantly quiet affair, both being familiar enough with each other's personalities to find the silence between them comfortable. However, there was something slightly off about Neji's demeanour that finally troubled Sakura enough to inquire about it.

"Is something the matter, Neji-san? You seem a little agitated," Sakura asked as innocently as possible.

"A little agitated" could be considered an understatement, as the Hyuuga prodigy often had his brows pinched in vexation. But today, his eyebrows just seemed extra… pinch-y.

Neji looked as if he was wondering if he should share his worries with Sakura, so Sakura smiled encouragingly, knowing how closed-up the man once was.

When Neji finally opened his mouth, it was more a series of nouns than sentences.

"Tenten… bikini… white…"

"Eh?" Was Sakura very eloquent reply.

Neji's left eyebrow twitched, and he said a little too quickly, "Ithinkitistranslucentorsomething."

"Erm, Neji-san, I know it's not very comforting for me to say this, but white bikinis by their nature do have a translucent look," Sakura quickly added, "But I can tell you as a woman that there is extra padding where it counts so Tenten still retains her modesty!"

Neji, though, still looked as traumatised as ever.

"But why is there a bikini contest in the first place?" Neji's voice was _almost_ pitched as a whine. "When I first heard about it from Shikamaru, it was supposed to be a quiet birthday celebration, and suddenly, the Allied Shiobi Forces looks more like the Allied Swimsuit Forces. And if Hinata-sama puts on a bikini as well…"

Sakura, only ever used to seeing the straight shooter Neji, could only boggle at the completely uncharacteristic near-panic that the Hyuuga prodigy was now in. It was a known fact that the Hyuuga clan was a conservative one, and Neji had always declined to join them at the beach, but surely there was no need for him to go into a fit.

Unless… it was not so much as the bikini issue as opposed to _who_ was wearing the bikini.

Perhaps Tenten's crush on the Hyuuga prodigy was not so one-sided after all.

"Erm… I'll talk to Tenten when we get back to the camp, ok?" Sakura hoped her guess was the correct one.

"Please do."

* * *

><p>A bright green balloon floated lazily towards the skies as Sakura awaited clearance from the sensor shinobis under the streamers-covered entrance to the 4th Division camp.<p>

Sakura was feeling oddly detached from the situation – as she walked forward almost automatically while Neji underwent his own chakra testing, the amount of multi-coloured streamers and confetti decorating every post, perimeter fence and watch tower made the camp look more like the site of a party factory explosion than a military installation.

"I said, no ballons! You might as well be sending up flare signals to Akatsuki and telling them to come invade us while half of you are drunk off your ass!" A loud thwack, followed by the sound of groaning male shinobis.

"Temari-san?" Sakura walked towards the clearly infuriated woman, "How… extravagant is Kazekage-sama's party going to be exactly?"

Both women heard it as "how much of our resources are we going to waste on a birthday party instead of the war at hand?" Temari hoisted her huge fan over one shoulder, shook her head in annoyance, and muttered, "So far, I'm doing my best to keep things low-key. You'd think the war was already over, judging from the overall mood of the army."

Looking around her, Sakura had to agree – the atmosphere in the camp was considerably lighter and almost jovial. The sound of laughter and easy conversations were almost foreign to her, having not heard them in what seemed to be a very long time.

It may not be too far-fetched to assume that the shinobis _needed_ this break from the war.

The sudden disappearance of Neji's chakra signature, followed by the sight of an approaching bikini-clad kunoichi had Sakura putting two-and-two together.

"Sakura, you're okay now! I heard that you were confined to the medic base due to your injuries, but they limited the number of non-injured personnel visitors to you, so I couldn't go," Tenten said, concern evident in her voice, "Is it really okay for you to be back at work so soon?"

Grinning, Sakura flexed her left arm and placed her hand on her bicep and replied, "It takes a lot more than that to keep me from my duties."

At this, Tenten's eyes took on a somewhat shifty look.

"Oh, Sakura, don't you mean – to keep you away from a certain somebody?"

"I don't know what you are talking about... Oh, hey! Where did you get this bikini from anyway? You didn't actually pack a bikini for the war, did you?"

_Nice diversion, Haruno. Now let's see if she takes the bait._

"What, this?" Tenten plucked at the string about midway above her chest, "Nope. Kankurou-san had a storage scroll full of them delivered from Sunagakure at around daybreak after the Suna kunoichis shared the cake idea with him last night. I just wanted to try it out on Neji to see if I can get him to look at me a little… differently."

Oh, Neji was definitely _looking_ at her differently, but Sakura decided not to elaborate on how so.

"Do you think he will notice me more now?" Tenten asked hesitantly.

Oh, _ho_ – Neji definitely _noticed_ her, alright. But once again, Sakura told herself that it would kill both Tenten and Neji for her to learn that he was such a prude.

"Erm, Tenten, do you think this look," Sakura gestured vaguely at Tenten's clothes, or lack of it, "Is what you really want to use to get Neji-san's attention with?"

Tenten visibly deflated, and Sakura wanted to apologise at once, but was cut short by the Chinese girl's next words.

"I should have gone for the blue one-piece suit, shouldn't I? This look just isn't flattering, and I don't think Neji has seen me in a string bikini before – it might send his system into a shock," Tenten giggled at her own joke, not knowing how close to the truth it was.

"Tenten," Sakura placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, "We are both kunoichis. The men in our lives are shinobis. Maybe you should consider getting his attention through our shared professions."

"You mean, like, challenge him to a fight?" Tenten raised an eyebrow skeptically, "That sounds more like what Naruto would do."

"Killing Neji-san would be counter-productive to what we're going for here. I was thinking more along the lines of impressing his clan with your abilities as a kunoichi. After all, he is the direct heir of the strongest Hyuuga branch family. The clan elders would certainly be involved in his choice of a wife."

"You think too far ahead, Sakura," Tenten tried her best not to blush madly, but was failing miserably, "But I see your point. I think I'll go training with Neji with the new weapon scrolls that I had Akamaru retrieve for me."

"Remember to change first," called out Sakura.

Just in case. Neji would be too distracted by the bikini to notice any improvement in his long-time teammate's skills, and probably distracted enough to get injured in an otherwise regular training exercise.

Tenten was already running off in the opposite direction, but suddenly halted and turned her head to shout out, "Oh, you may want to check on Kankurou-san first if you're back on duty. Temari-san hit him too hard, and she's not much of a nurse."

Sakura giggled softly to herself – Temari had gone after Kankurou as she had expected, but what she did not expect was for the blonde to attempt patching up her brother afterwards.

"Wasn't she the kunoichi I fought during the Chuunin Examinations?"

"Temari-san!" Sakura jumped a little at the appearance of the eldest of the Sand Siblings by her side, "I apologise on behalf of Tenten if her words offended you. She meant no…"

"Relax, Sakura. I'm not offended. I did beat Kankurou up, and I really do suck at bandaging," chuckled Temari, as if admitting to nearly committing fratricide was a daily occurrence to her, "But don't worry. It's just superficial bruising. I gave him an ice-pack and taped it to his head, then wrapped a towel over it."

Deciding that it was best to not comment on Temari's lack of medical training, Sakura asked, "How do you suppose Kankurou-san managed to get some many swimsuits in such short notice?"

Temari noticeably shuddered as she replied, "There are some things that I as a sister do not want to think about."

Sakura could not agree more.

"But enough about my first brother; you should have long been in the Regimental Leader's tent, medic-nin Haruno Sakura. Your arrival has been quite anticipated."

Temari did not just waggle her eyebrows at her, did she…?

"I shall report to Kazekage-sama post-haste, Temari-san," Sakura replied, unable to avoid shooting her a 'I know what you are thinking' look.

"Excellent," grinned Temari, "Now, off you go. I have to go make sure that the Suna kunoichis do not sully the name of our Village any further, or plant any… surprises in Gaara's cake."

As Temari walked away, Sakura heard her commenting rather loudly about how the shinobi world would experience an explosion in births approximately nine months from now thanks to all the kunoichis parading around in tiny bits of fabric and the stupid men who are lusting over said parading bodies.

* * *

><p>Why did the walk to the Regimental Leader's tent feel like the Dead Man's Walk?<p>

Sakura could have sworn that the pull of gravity on her sandaled feet was getting stronger and stronger the closer she got to the tent she shared with Gaara. Her heart was beating like a cat's, and her hands were getting strangely clammy.

_This is ridiculous, Sakura. Snap out of it! You're just going back to your tent; the tent that you share with your boyfriend, whom you were caught in an extremely compromising situation with just… days… ago._

Sakura stopped cold in her tracks. This whole situation was ridiculous – there had been speculations about her relationship with the Kazekage from the moment she was transferred to his Division. She had heard just about every possible rumour there was already, the latest being that she was sent to the medic base to have a prenatal check-up done when news of her unconscious self being carried to the base by Naruto began spreading like a wildfire.

_Oh, just get it over with, Sakura!_

Steeling her nerves and rather foolishly squeezing her eyes shut while she swallowed her irrational fears, Sakura made a mad dash towards the tent flap.

Just as Gaara was lifting it when he sensed her chakra signature outside.

Later, the villagers of the Rumour Village would speak of how the Kazekage's lover ran headlong into his embrace while he lifted her and spun her about in some quasi-fairytale fashion.

In reality, Sakura and Gaara were mutually nursing the bumps on their foreheads after Sakura's unexpected move knocked Gaara back into the tent and sent them both sprawling on the carpeted floor, with one of Sakura's elbow digging rather painfully into Gaara's rib.

"That was… unexpected," commented Gaara as he carefully inched out from under Sakura's abusive elbow.

Sakura, still rubbing her forehead and _still_ with her eyes closed, replied, "Believe me; I didn't plan on that happening either."

After a few more rubs, Sakura's eyes blinked open. Gaara's lips were pulled into a teasing smirk, and she knew the drill that would follow: Gaara would say something that would embarrass her further, and in turn, she would start acting the blushing fool around him.

Well, not this time, Sakura declared to herself as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Gaara's.

Alright, so she was still blushing, but she certainly did not feel like a fool when Gaara's lips began to move against hers.

_I missed you._

_I missed you, too._

Between them, they spoke the silent language of lovers alone.

Like a sychronised dance, they placed their arms around each other – Gaara's arms around Sakura's waist and Sakura's around his neck and shoulders. They did not let go of each other after Gaara gave her a gentle squeeze, or after they leaned back to look each other in the eyes, breaths mingling in the tiny space between their faces.

"They discharged me; I'm fit for personal medic duties again," Sakura said, and blushed at the sheer obviousness of her statement.

"Among other things," teased Gaara as he sat up a little straighter and pulled Sakura against his chest.

It was so easy to lean against that strong, solid chest and allow herself to be lulled into peaceful slumber by Gaara's heartbeat. So easy to give into the temptation to give more of herself to the one who loves her for who she is, who does not expect her to give up any part of herself just to be with him.

It was a terrifying thought: too big a step to take or even comprehend for Sakura even though an older, more primal part of herself was telling her otherwise.

In such situations, Sakura preferred to turn to her intellect instead.

"Gaara? Are you… okay with the idea of such a big party when the war is still raging on?"

The corners of Gaara's mouth turned down briefly, as if he was expecting her to ask something else. But just as quickly, he slipped on his politician's mask.

"It is indeed rather extravagant and completely different from what I expected, but the effect the preparations alone are doing wonders for the morale of the army. I think we all needed this respite from the war more than we let on," then Gaara leaned to whisper, "As do you."

"Me?" Sakura tilted her head quizzically.

"Before you left on your mission, you told me you needed something to help you forget about the worries you have for your village. I thought this would be a good distraction. Temari and Shikamaru-san wanted to scale things down, but I think you'd enjoy one night without the war nagging at the back of your head.

"The other Kages have different views on this matter. Your Hokage is most pleased and has arranged for what she said would be 'enough booze to drown the entire Akatsuki and Kabuto in'. But we have all agreed that security detail would be of upmost importance when we celebrate on the evening three days from now. I fear I owe Shikaku-san a huge favour – he is running himself haggard arranging for all points of the merged camps to be guarded by shinobis in shifts at all times with redundant watchmen backing them up."

All these for a single night of freedom.

"This war cannot be over soon enough," sighed Sakura, her shoulder drooping.

"I agree," Gaara's voice was serious, "However, we know that Madara is capable of using a teleportation jutsu with his Sharingan, and we know from having fought him that he has the power to pull off moving all of Akatsuki and what remains of their equipment over great distances. We have conveyed this possible scenario to the Intelligence Division, and once my birthday is over, we will begin sending scouting units to every single land. If Madara and Kabuto have both indeed moved to rogue territory, the War Council will have to reassemble the Allied Shinobi Forces from ground-up."

Sakura was so deep in thought that she did not notice that Gaara was removing her flak jacket for her until it was halfway off her shoulders.

"Excuse me, Gaara, but what do you think you are doing?" Her face was turning pink without her consent once more.

"You can't possibly be comfortable wearing that jacket with all the padding inside, especially after a surgery," explained Gaara, eyes and hands still focused on his task of disrobing Sakura.

"I think I can undress myself, thank you very much!" Sakura batted at his hands as if she was trying to discourage a kitten from approaching her.

In short, it was not a very effective move on her part.

With an almost too-casual flick of his wrist, Gaara whipped Sakura's jacket over his head and it landed noisily on his bed.

Katsuyu's tiny squelch of indignation was lost amongst the bedding.

"Better?" He asked, hands now rubbing up and down Sakura's arms and leaving a trail of goosebumps in their tracks.

Sakura _did_ feel more comfortable now that the weight of the jacket was off her; not to mention, the heat of the desert was getting to her. But her pride would not let her admit that.

Instead, her tongue worked faster than her brain, "You can't possibly be comfortable wearing those thick robes in the middle of the day, Kazekage-sama."

It was a jibe at his title and an attempt to voice her displeasure at being treated like some delicate doll. However, Gaara was never one to miss an opportunity to make his girlfriend blush.

"You're quite right, Haruno-san. I am feeling rather warm myself."

And Gaara promptly began to undo his robes.

Which made Sakura seize up in an 'oh-stars-what-have-I-done' manner, and she lost her already precarious balance on Gaara's lap.

Fortunately, she was saved from further concussions when Gaara threw out an arm and cushioned her fall.

And toppled along with Sakura's weight against his arm.

And landed on his side, with Sakura tucked up against him and his robes halfway off.

Of course, Sakura had her part to play in this little accident as well – she had shot out her hand and grabbed onto Gaara's exposed bicep, thus pulling them closer than they would have if she had not held on when they fell together.

"Are you alright, Sakura?"

A little breathless from the unexpected fall, Sakura could only lean into his embrace and breathe out a ragged, "Yes."

"Oh, _excuse_ me."

The world was too unfair towards her and her love life, Sakura concluded, when they both looked up to see Temari at the tent entrance, hips cocked and a trademark Sand Siblings smirk on her lips.

"Sakura, I was just going to deliver a reminder from the head medic-nin that you should not physically stress yourself for the next few days, but I'm just going to pretend I couldn't find you. You kids have fun now, but not too much fun."

With a wave of her hand, Temari vanished back to the outside world; a world that both Gaara and Sakura had apparently forgotten about.

"Kankurou! Kankurou? Where the hell are you? I won our bet!"

"I don't have any money with me right now! Please don't hit me again!"

When Sakura looked up at Gaara, he had his face buried in one hand and was muttering something about siblings.

Personally, Sakura wanted to bury herself underground instead.

They finally looked at each other, decided that the Rumour Village was at the point of no-return, and settled back into a comfortable embrace.

Neither of them could truthfully say that they did not enjoy the other's touch, anyway.


	35. Chapter 35

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

I really, really appreciate the super-long reviews I receive. They remind me that I actually have a fanfic I am supposed to update :O

* * *

><p>Tsunade had never been fond of the War Council meetings to begin with; they were playing political dartboards in there, as the war dragged on and the Kages with their accompanying officers began hurling blame at one another for their current impasse.<p>

And to think it was all caused by a certain redhaired Kage's crushing outlash at Akatsuki for the near-death of his beloved personal medic.

If Tsunade had to be reasonable about it, it was her own fault for assigning one romantically-inexperienced woman to tend to the well-being of one romantically-inexperienced man. Hindsight was fifty-fifty after all; although Gaara's non-fatal subduing of Sakura during the attack of Sunagakure all those years ago should have been a hint of sorts.

However, Tsunade was glad that being a Kage meant that she did not have to behave like a reasonable person all the time.

Which was probably why she had passed on the otherwise secret birthday celebration plans to an Iwa kunoichi, and set the wheels in motion for The Birthday Event of the Century Despite an Ongoing World War.

Besides, Iwagakure was well-known for their high-quality sake (aged in special earthenware, she was told), of which Tsunade made certain to order plenty of for the birthday of an _underage_ Kage.

This morning, she would be attending yet another council meeting, expecting to near the same reports of "nothing to report" and hear the old Tsuchikage and Raikage pick at each other like children in a too-small sandbox; she would rather be at the medic base to stare at Yamato's monitor screens that relay everything but tell her nothing. At least the steady 'pings' the machines gave out were predictable and familiar.

The Fourth Shinobi World War, however, has never to be one short of surprises.

Inoichi and Shikaku were already standing next to her seat at the council table, which was nothing out of the ordinary. What was different, though, was the addition of one other shinobi.

"Kotetsu? Why are you not on guard duty?" Tsunade asked; said man was supposed to be in the smaller building next door – a temporary prison they built for the resurrected shinobis whom they considered to be possible information sources.

Kotetsu bowed and moved forward, a hand raised to shield the words that he was about to whisper into the Hokage's ear when A suddenly slammed a hand down on the council table.

"There are no secrets allowed in this room; either you speak to all, or you speak to none."

Tsunade frowned at her fellow Kage's attitude, but at the same time, knew how raw everyone's nerves already were. She nodded to Kotetsu, who suddenly seemed hesitant to speak.

"Do you have something to report, Kotetsu?" voiced Tsunade perhaps a little louder than necessary – for the Raikage's sake.

For some reason, Kotetsu seemed to shrink before their eyes, and Tsunade knew right away that the shinobi was not going to deliver any good news.

"One of the prisoners has requested your presence, Hokage-sama."

A looked ready to throw a fit about how dare a prisoner of war make demands of a Kage, but Tsunade had shot him a glare that would have instantly killed a lesser man; he decided to allow this madness to go on for now, and it was not as if the Hokage made it a secret that she paid visits to one specific resurrected Konoha-nin on several occasions.

"Honourable Kages," Kotetsu unexpectedly turned to address the other four Kages in the room, "I would like to humbly request for your presence as well."

Gaara lifted an invisible eyebrow at Tsunade, and all the woman could do was to shake her head in obvious confusion. What message or secrets did this resurrected shinobi hold that was so great as to require the presence of all five Kages?

"Lead the way, Kotetsu."

* * *

><p>The moment the Kages and their personal entourages stepped out of the war council building, they knew something was terribly wrong.<p>

The prison building was awash in strobes of yellow and white lights, flashing out from whatever openings the prison had to the outside world. Tsunade felt a sense of dread overcoming her – the light that was being given out pulsed like a dying beast – she had already accidentally taken one step forward before she reminded herself to not jump to conclusions.

"It's happening too fast," Kotetsu mumbled to himself, then turned to the group behind him and said, "We must hurry – time is running out."

"Running out? What is happening exactly, Special Jounin?" demanded A as the entire group broke into a sprint towards the prison.

"A few of the prisoners started experiencing cracks on their bodies a little while ago, Raikage-sama, We suspected that it might have something to do with the special operative we tasked with the assassination of Kabuto; now, it looks like he was successful."

"Special operative? Tsunade, you secretly deployed a single shinobi to track down the war criminal Kabuto Yakushi?! Were you even planning on telling us about this?" roared A as expected.

Tsunade whipped her head around, startling A with the angry tears flowing from her blazing eyes as she shouted back, "The odds were so heavily stacked against him that I did not expect him to succeed. But now that he has…"

_Dan._

She was going to lose the man she loved all over again.

_This is a war. No death is personal._

Those were the exact same words that Tsunade said to Sakura less than twenty-four hours ago, and she had believed in them with utter conviction. She _had_ to.

That did nothing to lessen her bitterness towards Uchiha Itachi, though.

The shinobis standing guard at the prison entrance automatically parted ways and formed the hand seals required to remove the protective barrier around the building before they moved to open the imposing steel door.

No one present was able to hide their winches or grimaces when the yellow light hit them straight in their eyes. Or perhaps they were feeling somewhat uncomfortable when the shrieks and yells of the prisoners of war seemed to increase ten-fold when the door was cracked open.

Either way, Tsunade was the first to recover and took hurried steps into the building, one hand partially shielding her eyes as she did so. She barely spared a second glance at the jailed shinobis that were now piles of ash, dust and decayed corpses; she had only one destination in mind.

It was the Mizukage who shot out her arm to stop the other Kages from running after Tsunade; she had seen the grief in the Hokage's eyes, and Mei knew the last thing she needed was an audience.

A looked at the piles of dead, nameless shinobis, snorted, and finally grudgingly admitted, "Whoever this Konoha operative was, he had accomplished this seemingly-impossible mission. I would like to meet him when he returns."

Gaara noticed Shikaku and Inoichi exchanging slightly uncomfortable looks, and filed that away as a mental note. Tsunade had ordered what was equivalent to a suicide mission – sending a single shinobi against another who could raise the dead as his personal army – and miracle of miracles, this one shinobi had succeeded where squads of scouting parties had failed to even pick up any traces of Kabuto's location.

_There are only a handful of Konoha shinobis capable enough to accomplish such a task, and most of them have not been ordered away._

The uneasiness of Tsunade's two aides, combined with Sakura's almost-confession of her Village's sins to him prior to her mission to assist Naruto, led him to one conclusion:

This was a shinobi whose name could never be spoken aloud.

The image of a particular half-crazed, desperate Uchiha male surfaced in his mind's eye. There had been no reports on Sasuke's movements since his attack at the Kage Summit. In fact, it was almost as if he had vanished off the face of the earth after eliminating Danzo. However, this was a man who trained under one of the Legendary Sannin and bested him – if Sasuke's loyalties were not of concern, Gaara would have immediately marked him as the operative whom the Hokage had sent out.

Gaara minutely shook his heads to clear his thoughts; he was just making speculations, and Tsunade's ability to judge people – sending poison specialist Sakura to heal Kankurou, assigning the level-headed Kakashi to lead Team Ten on their vengeance-seeking mission – were signs that he should trust in her to have selected the right person to eliminate Kabuto.

No matter whom that person might be.

"It is clear what has happened – Kabuto Yakushi is dead, or at least no longer able to wield our own shinobis against us," Gaara gave voice to the thoughts in everyone's heads, then slowly turned around to walk towards the building entrance.

"Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara paused to cast his gaze at Inoichi and Shikaku briefly before resuming his walk, saying, "I will return to the Allied Shinobi Forces, but I will not disseminate any information of what has just occurred until I receive the official report from the Intelligence Division. And when Hokage-sama is free to speak, I'd like an audience with her."

The message was clearly directed at Tsunade's aides: _Once the Hokage is ready to reveal the secret or secrets that she was hiding, I want to be the first to know._

Baki could only shrug discreetly at Shikaku before he turned to follow his Kage out of the building.

* * *

><p>Haruno Sakura was being kidnapped.<p>

… Alright, perhaps it is too strong a choice of words. In addition, she was no longer a 'kid'.

More accurately, she was being forcefully led away by Temari from a 'I-think-I'll-juggle-Giant-Rasenshurikens' Naruto, who was in charge of the birthday party entertainment. Sakura was partially filled with dread that Naruto would actually proceed with his half-arsed act, and partially relieved that she would not have to beat the stuffing out of someone she considered a brother.

Besides, she already had Katsuyu relay Naruto's antics to Kakashi – he should eventually find his way out from his Road of Dreamy Days to knock some sense into the blond.

"Here we are!" Temari declared cheerfully as she practically deposited Sakura onto a chair in her tent before she began rummaging through her footlocker.

Still a little unnerved by the actions of the eldest of the Sand Siblings, Sakura asked warily, "Is there a reason you needed to see me so urgently, Temari-san? Has someone been injured? Do you need any heal…"

Temari promptly cut Sakura off by whipping around to point her fan at the pink-haired kunoichi's face, a twinkle in her eyes as she replied, "Nothing of that sort, Sakura. And stop calling me 'Temari-san'. I told you before – you're dating my brother; it is ok to use my name directly."

Inwardly, Sakura shuddered.

Temari was _scary_ when she was being nice.

"Ta-dah!"

Sakura had to fight back the urge to punch at the sudden blanket of whiteness obscuring her vision. It took her a moment later to realise that Temari was waving a piece of clothing at her.

Correction: a piece of _swimsuit_.

"Temari," began Sakura slowly, "You're not actually going to take part in this bikini showfest, are you? I know Gaara allowed it to continue only because it would completely crush the morale of our troops to take away something that they already had a glimpse of, but I thought you disapproved of the entire affair. I mean, you are even having some members of the Hyuuga clan guarding Gaara's cake to make sure no kunoichi tries to sneak herself into it."

"What? No, white is not my colour at all," it was as if Temari was having a completely different conversation, "I picked this one out for _you_."

Sakura discreetly stuck her pinky in her ear and twisted it about for good measure, in case Naruto's earlier failures with his juggling act and the subsequent explosions had damaged her hearing; or at least, caused something to lodge in her ear.

There was no way Temari was being serious.

"I'm being perfectly serious, Sakura."

Okay, scratch that.

"You should have seen it!" Temari flicked the swimsuit in her hand, although she did not seem to be referring to it at that moment, "I thought for sure Gaara would send Kankurou to the stockades, but instead, I caught him sneaking a look at this particular piece when he should have been lecturing Kankurou alongside me. And I can tell you from experience, Sakura, that Gaara does not give two hoots about women's clothing; this is the first time I've actually seen him look at one for more than a second."

"Erm…" Sakura was a little troubled by Temari's enthusiasm, "Are you sure he's not just looking at it and wondering where Kankurou-sa… I mean, where Kankurou found all these swimsuits from? Gaara could have been looking at this piece out of pure coincidence."

"Sakura, the war has done you no fashion favours. Yes, you were still wearing that cute red number in the early days of the war, but all I ever see you in these days are the standard shinobi attire or a medic's scrubs. Now, I really don't want to broach this topic since this is my little brother we are talking about…"

"Then please don't."

"… However, Gaara is a teenager in spite of the matured political front that he has to put up. Do you think he's not going to be affected in one way or another when over half the kunoichi population is running around in bikinis and his own girlfriend is dressed like a nun?"

Sakura puffed herself up, scowling as she retorted, "I'm not dressed like a nun, Temari; I wear whatever that is practical for the war."

"What about outside of it?" Temari asked, "Gaara puts on that poker face for the other Kages and ranking officers, but I doubt he does the same thing for you when the two of you are in your tent. Don't tell me you don't try to help him forget his burdens as Regimental Leader and Kazekage when you two are alone by dressing a little more casually or just putting on a bit of that lotion of yours that he seems to like?"

Sakura's silence was all the answer Temari needed.

_Too young, the both of them; too new to love to know how to feed it properly. _

Wordlessly, Temari held the swimsuit out to Sakura and looked away, crossing her arms as she did so. Sakura did not risk looking up at the eldest of the Sand Siblings and instead tried to give the swimsuit her full attention.

"I'll be outside," said Temari suddenly before disappearing past the tent flap.

The message was unmistakable – _try on the swimsuit_.

Sakura sighed softly. There was no harm in putting on the swimsuit in the privacy of Temari's tent. Besides, even if anyone else saw her in the swimsuit, they would probably brush her off as another of the bikini-clad kunoichis and conveniently forget that she was the Regimental Leader's personal medic.

She hoped.

Sakura made quick work of disrobing herself, folding her shinobi attire and placing it on a nearby chair before she picked up the swimsuit. It was just a plain white, one-piece swimsuit. There was nothing spectacularly eye-catching about it except for a small trail of silver butterflies dancing from her left hip to her right breast.

It was only after she had put on the swimsuit and adjusted it that Sakura noticed several… problems with it.

Firstly, there were some bits of fabric missing. More specifically, two triangular-shaped pieces was cut out from a little above her hips, and a matching triangle was trimmed away a short distance under each breast. Sakura did not notice these cutaways previously – that was how devious white swimsuits could be.

The biggest problem, however, was when Sakura reached behind to check her back.

The entire back of the swimsuit was missing from pelvic bone-up.

_Was Gaara really looking at this? It does provide easy access to… no, Haruno – not going to think about that. Stop it stop it stop it STOP IT._

"Everything alright in there, Sakura?" Temari shouted from outside.

"No! Everything is NOT alright!" Sakura all but shrieked back, "I refuse to believe that he was interested in this… this… thing!"

Temari poked her head in, gave Sakura the once-over, and deadpanned, "Wow, you really don't know what turns guys on, do you?"

Sakura desperately slapped her hands over the cutaways under her chest, blushing as she said, "I do not for one moment believe this is going to "turn guys on", as you put it. It's embarrassing for both parties if any guy looks too long at something so… exposed!"

"Tsk!" Temari swept back into the tent, "Is it really so hard to believe that a man will want to see his girlfriend in something sexy?"

"We're talking about the Kazekage here!"

"Who happens to be a man, Sakura. Did you even once consider getting to second base, or God forbid, third base with Gaara?"

Sakura blanched and shook her head so hard, that she could have sworn she gave herself a mild concussion.

"… Yep. That about confirms it for me," Temari sounded pleased, "Gaara won't know what hit him when we send you to him in a nicely-wrapped box."

Sakura prayed that Temari was joking.

There was a flare of chakra outside the tent – Baki's chakra signature. Temari pushed her tent flap slightly open – just enough to meet Baki's gaze and not expose Sakura.

"Is something the matter, Baki-san?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Temari-sama, but I have urgent summons for Sakura-san. I was told that she was with you."

Sakura's head popped out of the tent directly under Temari's; the sight of two disembodied heads was an almost comical sight to behold to Baki, but he wisely held his tongue.

"What has happened, Baki-san?"

"Sakura-san, there is a situation in your tent right now that involves Uzumaki-sama and Kazekage-sama. The sand-cat…"

Baki did not have the chance to finish speaking before Sakura simply bolted out of Temari's tent, completely oblivious to her state of dress. Mr. Fluffy-kins was not particularly fond of either male that Baki had just mentioned, and to bring them up in the same sentence…

_Oh, stars_, Sakura suddenly remembered, _Gaara's present!_

Sakura's still-sandaled feet broke off into an even faster pace.

In the meantime, Temari was eyeing Baki with a strange smirk on her face. Finally, she stepped out of her tent and gave Baki a swift kick in the shin.

"Put your eyes back in your head, Baki-san."

* * *

><p>"You catch it."<p>

"No, _you_ catch it."

_Troublesome._

Shikamaru watched expressionlessly from a corner of the Regimental Leader's tent while Gaara and Naruto argued over who was to stop the hissing, swirling mass that the sand-cat had now taken the form of.

The sensor shinobis had informed him and Baki that the Kazekage's sand-cat had returned, but with a suspicious parcel that it had refused to part with. And while both men knew that the sand-cat had probably brought said parcel under Sakura's behest, it was standard protocol to subject all packages coming into or leaving the camps to a thorough search; the enemy forces could have snuck a malicious device into the package, and there was no telling if the sand-cat had guarded the package from such possibilities.

The Nara prodigy was the first to sense Sakura's approaching chakra, and cleared his throat to get the attention of the two men, "Our problem is about to be solved; Sakura is here."

What they did not expect was for Sakura herself to bring a whole new set of problems.

Meanwhile, Sakura at least still had enough of a mind to remember to flare her chakra before bursting into the tent, whisper-shouting, "Mr. Fluffy-kins!"

However, three other minds ground to a screeching halt at the sight of Sakura's present state of dress. Or undress. Whatever.

Shikamaru's jaw had quite literally dropped; he had been to the beach with Sakura, both as a friend and when they were dating, and she always wore a modest dark blue or black one-piece suit. While her current choice of swimwear was not as bold as some kunoichis', it was definitely more… exposed than what he had seen her in.

Naruto openly, unabashedly gawked.

Gaara, however, stiffened like a statue.

Not that Sakura noticed their reactions; she was too occupied by the sight of the sand-cat in its cloud form, and was approaching it gingerly while she called its name repeatedly.

After what seemed like forever, the cloud of sand began to swirl less ferociously, and gathered together to take a misty shape of the sand-cat. A few heartbeats later, the misty visage solidified into the familiar form of the sand-cat.

With one deft leap, the sand-cat found its way into Sakura's outstretched arms and was soon brought into a cuddle. Sakura, with all her attention on soothing her pet, did not notice the odd behaviours of the men around her.

Shikamaru reached up and nudged his jaw close with a soft "click" of his teeth; he was purely surprised at Sakura's state of dress, and did not wish for Gaara to get the wrong impression that he was bearing impure thoughts towards the future Kazehime.

Naruto, however, bolstered by the knowledge that Gaara regarded him as one of his closest friend and was therefore not likely to kill him, blurted out, "Sakura-chan, you never wore something this… exposed when we went to the beach. What gives?"

It took Sakura but a heartbeat to realise the situation she was in; she promptly dropped the sand-cat like a hot potato and grabbed the brown-wrapped package on her bed to shield herself with it. As a shield against her modesty, it worked reasonably well considering it was a large and relatively flat package.

However, what has been seen cannot be unseen, unfortunately.

Seeing that no one was going to do anything about the present situation, Shikamaru decided to take the initiative for once; he held out a hand and gestured to the package that Sakura was so desperately clinging to.

"Sakura, your sand-cat did not allow any of the sensor shinobis to clear the package before he brought it right into the Regimental Leader's tent. You of all people should be aware of what a potentially dangerous outcome this could lead to."

Sakura turned to face Shikamaru, still holding the package like some sort of chastity shield as she muttered weakly, "It's a present for Kazekage-sama – it's supposed to be a secret."

Shikamaru frowned as he scratched his head in mild annoyance, then said, "Ok, I get the point that the present is supposed to be a secret, but it still has to undergo security clearance, especially since the Kazekage is the recipient."

"But…"

"I promise I'll not let the package out of my sight, and I'll make certain no one tries to probe its contents," reassured Shikamaru as he gestured for the package once more.

With a quiet sigh, Sakura relinquished the package to Shikamaru, whom wisely adverted his gaze as he took the package and made a beeline for the tent flap.

Suddenly conscious of the two men inside the tent, Sakura folded her arms over her chest, doing her best to meet their gazes and not be ashamed of how she was dressed; there were plenty of kunoichis going about their daily activities at that moment, some dressed in even less fabric than she was – there was no reason why she could not act as naturally as they were while in a similar state of dress.

"Well?" Sakura's voice rang out as a clear challenge, even if it did waver a little.

Naruto glanced out of the corner of his eyes at the still-frozen-to-the-spot Gaara before he leaned over to nudge the redhead with his elbow.

Not a single movement nor a peep of sound emerged.

Naruto turned back to Sakura and stated solemnly, "I think you broke him, Sakura-chan."

"Out, out!" Sakura all but yelled at Naruto when she saw the grin that was starting to form on his lips.

"So you mean you weren't part of the surprise birthday present?" Naruto asked over his shoulder while Sakura determinedly shoved him towards the tent flap.

"OUT!"

With Naruto now out of the picture, Sakura was able to give her full attention to Gaara.

He was still not saying anything, but the skin above the bridge of his nose had begun to pull together, and his eyes narrowed.

Not a good sign.

"Erm, Gaara?" Sakura ventured uncertainly, taking a single step forward as she continued to speak, "I'm sorry if this swimsuit was not what you were expecting; Temari dragged me into this, I swear! She had some crazy notion in her head that I should be wearing this because she saw you looking at it, and when Baki-san came to tell us about Mr. Fluffy-kins, I didn't have time to change back to my shinobi attire before rushing here."

Alright, so it was not the bravest of moves to shove the blame in Temari's direction, but Sakura figured that at least it was the truth, and the truth was something that both she and Gaara valued between them.

"Come with me," Gaara's voice cracked a little near the end.

In two strides, Gaara closed the distance between them, seized both of Sakura's wrists in one hand and wrapped his other arm tightly around her waist. There was something off about his expression, but it was swallowed up as the sand swirled around and transported them away.

* * *

><p>Sakura's back collided with the face of the rock cliff before the sand which was transporting them had even completely vanished. On instinct, she tried to push against her captor, but Gaara was literally in his element; he nudged her flush against the surface and pinned her wrists above her head to immobilise her before Sakura could jerk forward.<p>

By the time the sand cleared away, Sakura became aware of her splayed position against the rock, with Gaara neatly pressing himself against her to keep the rest of her body from automatically fighting back. He quickly and carefully trapped her legs between his, knowing from his academy days that kunoichis held in any position similar to Sakura's were taught to go for a swift kick, usually aimed at someplace delicate on the male anatomy.

"… Gaara?"

The young Kazekage did not seem to have heard her, and was still glaring at her as if she had committed some great offence against his person.

Silently, he leaned forward, inevitably pulling Sakura's trapped wrists higher and forcing her to stand on tip-toes.

_When did he grow taller?_

Gaara gave her no more time to think further before he pressed his lips to hers in a strange imitation of a bite; it provoked the exact response he wanted from Sakura, whom had gasped and responded in kind with an equally fierce kiss.

What the swimsuit revealed called out to him like a siren's song; the skin it exposed was a soft shade of peach from being hidden from the sun for so long. Except for a few thin scars along her arms and on her back that Gaara could feel, in his eyes, she was perfection. For the first time, without seeking her permission, Gaara's lips quested lower – her chin, her jawline, the underside of her ear, a trail against the column of her neck mapped out by her frantic pulse…

"Gaara…" Sakura hissed, placing a little chakra in her foot as she shoved against his ankle.

Gaara's lips drew back from her neck, but instead of backing away, he leaned forward and rested his forehead against the rock beside Sakura's face. It was only with sheer willpower that he did not lift even a centimeter of the swimsuit away from Sakura's skin to touch and taste more of her. His breathing was a little faster than he liked it to be, but there was no use trying to force it back to normal; it would have to come down on its own.

Case in point.

"Erm, Gaara?" Sakura flexed her wrists a little, "Your kunai is poking against my thigh."

"I never carry kunais, Sakura."

"You know what I mean," Sakura's face was turning an interesting shade of maroon red.

Beside her ear, Gaara's chuckle tickled her skin, "An interesting choice of words, though not the most flattering."

Then just like that, he released her wrists and wrapped his other arm around her waist as well. Sakura's brain which was still trying to catch up to the latest developments, left her with little else to do but to respond in kind with a hug of her own.

"I'll never touch you against your will, Sakura."

"I know," she sighed softly, his robes comfortably warm against her bare skin, "It's just a biological reaction – completely natural; I trust you, and I know you will control your urges."

"I'll have to thank Shukaku for that," muttered Gaara, "Taming the thirst for blood and victory, however, seemed much easier compared to taming teenage hormones. It is not befitting of a Kage to vanish with his girlfriend to make-out in the middle of a war."

Sakura giggled, not realising her act of doing so was causing parts of her body to press against Gaara's rhythmically.

"You're killing me here, Sakura," Gaara groaned in a mixture of resignation and… something else.

Just as quickly, Sakura's body stilled and she placed her open palms against Gaara's chest. That gesture earned her a quirked invisible eyebrow, but Gaara complied and took a step back.

"I… I want my first time to be special; not amongst the madness of a war and your ever-expanding birthday party. And definitely not because of something I happened to be wearing," Sakura found it hard to keep eye contact with Gaara as she spoke.

Gaara reached up and plucked at one of the swimsuit's straps, nodding as he replied, "The Kazehime's first time should not be like a roll in the barnyard. I apologise for getting carried away earlier."

"Thank you for understanding."

"Only when we are both ready, Sakura, and not just because we are adults in the eyes of the shinobi world and should have better self-restraint," Sakura looked up when Gaara paused, and his next words cemented themselves into her heart forever, "And because I love you, I will wait for as long as it takes."

The only thing a woman in Sakura's position could do was pretty much down to throwing herself into Gaara's arms and hugging him with unbridled affection.

Which, unfortunately, left Gaara with his first clear view down the back of Sakura's swimsuit.

"Sakura…" Gaara covered his face with one hand, "You're going to break my resolve if we don't get you into something less exposed soon."

Sakura frowned and asked, "Then why did you stare so long at this swimsuit that Temari had to come up with this ridiculous notion that you would want to see me in it?"

Gaara groaned and rubbed his face, doing his best not to let his eyes stray as he replied, "I was merely curious about where the cut-out parts would fit on a woman's body. It looked like an accident waiting to happen, and never in a thousand years would I have thought that the accident would happen to me… and you, if you want to blame Temari's meddling."

"Maybe you can take me back to camp so we can talk to Temari about this?"

"The better for both our sanities."

"Oh, absolutely."

Gaara had one arm wrapped around Sakura's waist and was starting to summon sand from his gourd when he suddenly paused and asked, "So, the package that Mun brought back… it's not a swimsuit, is it?"

Sakura's reply was a hard slap against his shoulder.

* * *

><p>It was yet another milestone victory for the Allied Shinobi Forces.<p>

Edo Tensei was finally broken; no longer would the shinobis be haunted by visages of deceased loved ones whom they dare not raise arms against.

For Tsunade, however, this victory was bittersweet.

_She ran as fast as she could, winding through the maze of jail cells on a route that she had taken a thousand times in her heart. But just before Tsunade rounded the final corner of her destination, her pace dropped rapidly to a walk, and finally to a stop altogether._

_She was afraid._

_Afraid of what was waiting for her in that cell. Or worse, if there was nothing left waiting for her._

_But time was of the essence, and steeling her nerves, Tsunade swung into the last corner with eyes closed._

"_Tsunade?"_

_She could have sworn her heart stopped at the sound of that voice. All decorum of a Hokage cast aside, Tsunade bolted down a few more cells and skidded to a kneel outside the cell where the voice came from._

"_Dan."_

_Their hands laced together through the humming, chakra-filled iron bars._

"_I have to go now. The curse has been broken," whispered Dan as he lifted her hand to his cold cheek._

_Tsunade was sobbing silent tears, and Dan took the chance to speak his last words to her._

"_At least we managed to say goodbye properly this time, Tsunade. I will be waiting for you when it is your time, and I hope it will be a very long wait."_

_Tsunade blinked away her tears. Dan was right – they finally had a proper closure, and now, he would return to a world without pain or suffering, where he would no longer risk falling under the control of a mad man._

"_Goodbye, Dan," Tsunade choked out, and then leaned forward to brush a kiss against his crumbling cheek._

"_Goodbye." He whispered._

Tsunade did not know how long had she spent leaning outside the cell that formerly housed her resurrected love. Sometime after Dan had vanished, Shikaku and Inoichi approached her and stood behind the corner, respecting her need for her vulnerable state to remain hidden from their eyes.

She had only a dim recollection of what they told her, but from Shikaku's words, she could summise that the Kazekage had become suspicious of this covert operation, and that he might have even guessed who was sent after Kabuto.

Tsunade smirked ironically to herself as she leaned forward and rested her chin on her knees; Gaara might be suspecting the involvement of a certain Uchiha male, but it was more than likely that he had the wrong Uchiha in mind. He was, after all, acting in a perfectly natural way a man would react to the heroic antics of his girlfriend's ex.

Inoichi had reported that their last communications with Uchiha Itachi was a little more than six hours ago, when he had located Kabuto's hiding place and was formulating an attack plan. He had intended to present that information to Tsunade that morning, but the speed of Itachi's success made his report moot.

There had been no further communications with Itachi since, and attempts at locating him yielded no results.

Perhaps in time, she would issue a posthumous pardon for Uchiha Itachi for his war efforts.

Today, however, she would mourn the twice-death of Dan.

Nobody questioned where the Hokage was for the rest of the day.


	36. Chapter 36

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

Apologies for the delay in updating, but real life has been a little strange lately. And also, I got distracted by the awesomeness of Zutara Week and had to read all that stuff. Oops.

* * *

><p>"What they said about the white sake from Iwagakure's Blue Dragon Springs is true: this is the best. Damn. Sake. Ever."<p>

Gaara's response was to nod politely at the grinning Hokage across the table in one of the interrogation-styled rooms, their aides conspicuously missing and the door firmly sealed with probably more sound barriers than necessary. While Tsunade was already on her second tokkuri of sake and had completely forgone with the use of the choko cup, Gaara only had half a cup – a gesture of political correctness more than anything else. Treaties have been signed, trade routes opened, and wars ended over shared sake between Kages, and Gaara acquired a sense of general indifference towards the drink over the years. So what if he was a little more than two years away from being able to consume alcoholic drinks legally?

He had committed far greater sins, Gaara reminded himself.

Finally, his patience proved to be not as long as he would have liked it to be.

"Hokage-sama, I requested this audience to discuss certain matters with you."

The underlying comment of _"I did not request this audience to watch a woman get drunk so she can evade my questions further" _went unspoken, but was loud and clear.

Tsunade took one last swig of her sake, then placed it none-too-gently on the table.

A hairline crack had begun to form from the contact point of the bottle with the table, but Gaara made no comment on it.

"Shikaku and Inoichi have spoken to me briefly. I know what questions you come bearing, Kazekage-sama." Tsunade sounded perfectly sober and serious despite the light flush on her cheek, "And my only answer to you is that this is Konohagakure internal affairs, and if the other Hidden Villages try to extract more information about the covert operation against Kabuto, we will consider this a serious breach of trust and act accordingly."

_How ironic_, mused Gaara.

"Then may I remind you, Hokage-sama, that I am the Regimental Leader of this war; the task of locating and taking down Kabuto Yakushi was assigned to the strongest tracker teams in each Division and we gave them the best resources and information possible, and now I am finding out that you had effectively withheld information that would have led to his capture. Do I even need to mention that your covert operation was no less than a slight on my position of leadership?" Gaara's voice was moderated and devoid of any emotions; he was simply stating a fact, as far as he was concerned.

Tsunade pressed her fingertips together and glared at Gaara; Gaara mirrored the gesture and gave as good as he got.

With a heaving sigh, Tsunade finally broke the silence between them, eyes closed as she spoke, "As far as I am concerned, everything that we've achieved to date in this war is entirely attributed to the Allied Shinobi Forces, with no single person claiming credit for any victories. I did overstep certain boundaries by not informing of this covert operation, but I really cannot disclose this information without destroying the reputation of my Village. However, I can assure you this operation was not meant to steal your thunder, and my operative did succeed in his mission; we have taken down Akatsuki's two strongest weapons: the White Zetsu clones, and now, the resurrected shinobis and Kabuto."

"Do you speak with absolute certainty that Kabuto is by all accounts dead and no longer a factor in this war?"

"I will give you the answer soon."

"Soon?"

"I've sent out a team," at this, Tsunade raised a hand to stop Gaara from interrupting her, "To the last communication point we received from my operative. Their orders are to bring back Kabuto's body, and any other information that they may find in the process. This information I will hand over to the Intelligence Division."

Gaara frowned, "So you are telling me that while the curse of Edo Tensei has been broken, Kabuto could well have escaped and may still be alive to use more of such foul techniques?"

"Yes."

The sand in Gaara's gourd slid against each other abrasively, an indication of their owner's agitation.

Finally, Gaara asked, "When do you expect them back?"

"I sent out the fastest team possible. They should be back after your birthday celebrations tonight."

Tsunade just _had_ to mention the one other event in Gaara's life that he had no control of even with his position as the Regimental Leader; the smirk on her lips told the Kazekage that she knew exactly what she was doing.

"The entire affair is getting out of hand. I should apologise to Shikaku-san in advance for all the security measures that he had been busy setting up for this… event," Gaara muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Speaking of affairs, Kazekage-sama, how are you and my young apprentice getting along?"

The redhead studied the smiling blonde across the table, trying to detect any traces of sarcasm or a desire for something juicy to gossip about. However, Sakura was and still is Tsunade's apprentice – the Hokage would never deliberately embarrass her student or put another Kage on the spot.

… At least, that was what Gaara hoped.

"She has been receptive to my courtship thus far."

Tsunade's little snigger might have something to do with his choice of words, but bringing Sakura into the conversation only reminded him of what he had been meaning to ask Tsunade since yesterday.

Gaara suddenly straightened in his seat and leaned forward, "Hokage-sama, I will respect your Village's desire to protect its secrets, but as Regimental Leader, I must ask this one question, and you as a Kage must answer it."

Tsunade cocked an eyebrow, lips slightly downturned at the tone of demand.

"I will answer on the condition that the question will not harm relations between any of the Five Shinobi Nations."

Gaara nodded, and without breaking his gaze from Tsunade's, asked in an almost accusatory voice, "Was the secret operative Uchiha Sasuke?"

A fine mist of sand was starting to seep from the cracks in the cork of Gaara's gourd.

"Why am I not surprised by your question?" Tsunade wanted to roll her eyes, but refrained from doing so; this was the question she had been expecting to answer after Shikaku and Inoichi's appearance yesterday near Dan's cell.

"This is one question you can answer, I presume."

"I can," said Tsunade with a nod of her head, "It was not Uchiha Sasuke. I cannot and will not send a known Kage killer; Sasuke murdered Danzo while he was Hokage, and that crime can never be pardoned. Even if Sasuke is the best candidate for this operation, with him having spent so much time around Orochimaru and Kabuto, he remains an unknown factor to those closest to him."

Gaara tilted his head, "I heard that he nearly killed his own teammate in the process of eliminating Danzo-san."

Tsunade's huffed a mocking laugh before replying, "A more appropriate description of his actions would be 'he used his female teammate as a crucifix'."

Gaara leaned back and closed his eyes, sighing softly. The most probable shinobi for assassinating Kabuto had just been ruled out, and with no other candidates coming to his mind, it seemed like a political scandal just waiting to break out.

He decided to probe no further – to become a party to this secret would only endanger Sunagakure in turn.

"I can only hope that whatever decisions you have made by carrying out this covert operation, that you would not come to regret them, Hokage-sama," Gaara hardened his gaze before rising from his seat to signal that he had enough of his share of political wrangling.

"There is one decision that I may have come to regret, Kazekage-sama," Tsunade rose from her seat and folded her arms across her chest.

Never had she seen a sterner glare from the young Kazekage when those words left her lips.

"For what it's worth, I do not share the same sentiments. She will assume the role of the Kazehime eventually, and I will not be persuaded to place that title upon another woman. Ever."

"You presume a lot, Kazekage-sama. Have you considered her position within Konohagakure? Do you think Sakura will abandon her duty to her own people and Village? Do you think my Senior Council will let you whisk her away so easily, knowing that she is probably the best poisons specialist in the shinobi world? And did you consider the political implications if you took the potential regent for an heirless Kage for your wife? What of the power imbalance when two Hidden Villages ally themselves through a marriage that in the eyes of every shinobi appears to be used to plot against other Villages?"

Tsunade sat back down, her gaze never leaving Gaara's steadily stiffening posture, then added for good measure, "And have you asked Sakura if she had considered all these factors as well? Her duty may be to you right now, but after the war, she will go back to being a Konoha kunoichi, and we both know how much that means to her."

Gaara drew a calming breath and replied as he exhaled, "When I assumed the role of Kazekage, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into: a world of political wordplay and maneuverings. You mean to dissuade me from my course, but I love Haruno-san, and I know that whatever her decision may be, it will be one that she has not come to lightly."

"… And when were you planning on telling me about the Kazehime Trials? I know Sunagakure's practice is to only bestow the title of Kage on men, which is why it is also the only Hidden Village to require a 'hime' title for the Kage's partner. While I have full confidence in Sakura to excel in what your senior council may throw at her, I will not allow Sakura to be held in lower regard just because of her gender," Tsunade finished with another swig of her sake.

"When the time comes, Haruno-san will pass the Trial," Gaara had uttered that sentence more as a fact than anything else, "And when I take her as my wife, I will change the law of Sunagakure to ensure that the Kazehime is to be treated with all the respect the Kazekage gets.

"I have never seen my mother in the political arena, but I have studied the lives of the previous Kazehimes. Haruno-san's place will be by my side always as both advisor and confidante – she will not be secreted away from my council's presence as were the previous Kazehimes. She will be nothing less than your equal, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade had to fight back the urge to reach over and smack Gaara around for assuming so quickly that Sakura would willingly become his wife after the few months they have spent together.

Not to mention, she had to fight the urge to fall to the floor in laughter at the seriousness of both Gaara's words and expression at the same time.

Instead, Tsunade reached around behind her to pluck a new tokkuri of sake and made a gesture with her hand to indicate that she wanted to be left alone.

But not before she said to the retreating form of the Kazekage, "You have only barely convinced me to allow this relationship to remain as thus, Kazekage-sama; there are three other Kages and their councils that you will have to persuade to see things your way."

Gaara's reply was a rather unsubtle slam of the door as he left the room.

… _It may actually be easier to get a pardon for Sasuke than for Gaara to win over both Sakura and the other Hidden Villages,_ Tsunade concluded silently.

* * *

><p>Nara Shikamaru was a big fan of cats, no surprises there.<p>

Cats exuded dignity in everything they did – they walked gracefully, they ate daintily, they sat as if they were in the presence of a Kage, they fought with grace to defend their own, and they even slept as if they were resting on delicate silk sheets.

Perhaps the only downside to cats was that most of them were not openly affectionate, if at all; Public Displays of Affection and dignity were the polar opposites of each other.

This could not be said for the sand-cat, which seemed to favour Shikamaru almost as much as it did its pink-haired owner.

And why were cats on his mind, one might ask of Shikamaru?

It was because he was presently standing at the top of one of the larger wooden watchtowers with Sakura, and her ever-present sand-cat was alternating between winding itself around Sakura's legs and Shikamaru's, and back to Sakura it went before repeating the pattern.

And the second question now would be, what was the Proxy Commander doing up on a watchtower with the Regimental Leader's Personal Medic?

As odd as the answer would seemed, it was because of shenanigans.

Well, the prevention of possible shenanigans by the shinobis during The Birthday Party of The Century, to be precise.

Sakura was no stranger to shenanigans herself; too often, she was caught in innocent but extremely compromising situations with Gaara. However, with the introduction of alcohol into the camp for even just one night…

There would most definitely be Shenanigans of Epic Proportions, to say the least. And not between herself and Gaara, she had quickly added.

To be fair, Sakura did not use the exact word 'shenanigans'; Shikamaru just used it as a substitute for her longer explanation of "possible inappropriate behaviours that would be unbecoming of shinobis". It made Sakura's fretting sound less serious in his mind.

Not that Shikamaru did not agree with her that the situation did merit attention; it was just that a serious Sakura was usually a short-tempered Sakura, and that meant an increased possibility of getting a right-hook from a chakra master.

"You should know as well as I do, Sakura, that having heard news of the sake for tonight, we are looking at a significant drop in morale among our forces if we were to withdraw it from the party."

Sakura shook the unfurled scroll in her hands in vexation and replied, "I know, but the war is still not over, and I think any enemy with half a brain would choose tonight to attack our encampment. We can't have drunk shinobis accidentally impaling each other with their shurikens and kunais while fighting off Akatsuki, or worse yet, while facing Madara."

Shikamaru turned his head and coughed discreetly into his fist, telling himself that he should not point out to Sakura (hee, _point_ out) that there will be a lot of 'impaling' happening tonight given the overall mood of the camp.

Shikamaru was in a pretty good mood himself, apparently.

It was hard not to feel at least one's spirits lifted a little when standing amongst the shinobis; just days ago before Gaara's birthday celebrations (and before a host of other reasons were thrown in to justify such an extravagant event), the Allied Shinobi Forces were still hunting for Kabuto while facing off the seemingly endless stream of resurrected shinobis. Kabuto had begun literally hitting closer to home by utilising the supply of fresh corpses, provided by none other than the Allied Shinobi Forces themselves.

The Intelligence Division had sent a concisely worded but unmistakable announcement to the Regimental Leader and his ranking officers just this morning – Edo Tensei was confirmed to have been broken. There was nothing else in the message sent: no explanations or anything of that sort, but this was a matter grave enough that no joke could be made, or lies told about it.

Gaara's countenance was stony, and remained as such when he left to convene with the Hokage. He did, however, assure his officers that the news was true before his departure, and that he had seen the curse break with his own eyes.

With the news that the Edo Tensei curse was lifted, this respite from having to constantly watch out for recently deceased friends-turned-enemies could not be more welcomed for the weary shinobis. Not even Temari's constant scolding of the kunoichis for their swimsuit attire or insistence for a more subdued tone of decorations could possibly dampen their mood.

… Okay, the possibility of the promised sake being taken away from them might be a downer, and that was the issue that Sakura had approached him with that morning. She had led them to the watchtower to converse to avoid the energy-charged buzzing around the camp, and the topic she wanted to broach was best done out of earshot of the shinobi population in general anyway.

"Wartime rationing," said Shikamaru suddenly.

"Sorry?" Sakura blinked in confusion.

Shikamaru turned to her and made a dismissive gesture as he explained, "If you don't want to see a bunch of shinobis drinking like fishes, you can just say that the supply of sake delivered was limited, so everyone is restricted to just one choko; or if you're generous, one masu each."

Sakura pondered but for a moment on Shikamaru's suggestion – it was reasonable given the circumstances. The sake would not have to be withheld from the more indulgent shinobis, and at the same time, one masu of sake should not dull most shinobis' senses or even embolden them enough to commit Random Acts of Regrettable Stupidity.

It was as shenanigan-free a solution possible they could employ in short notice.

"What would I do without you, Shika-kun?" Sakura was smiling as she shook her head mildly in amusement at how easily solutions came to the Nara heir, while she had spent the better part of the last two days trying to solve this problem.

Shikamaru tilted his head and smiled at her, replying, "Don't sell yourself short, Sakura. You would have come up with something on your own; you always did your best w…"

Shikamaru stilled in his speech so abruptly that Sakura took a step closer to ask in concern, "Shika-kun?"

It was approximately six heartbeats later that Shikamaru seemed to come back to himself and muttered something under his breath. He nodded his head in the direction of the steps leading to the top of the watchtower, grimacing as if he had just been on the pointed end of a spear.

A spear made out of sand, to be precise.

"Kazekage-sama."

"Nara-san," came an equally neutral acknowledgement.

"Kazekage-sama," Sakura greeted a moment later, still looking Shikamaru oddly out of the corner of her eyes.

The sand-cat was now entwined between Shikamaru's legs, hunches raised and tail waving slowly.

That cats chose to play favourites was nothing new to Shikamaru; however, he wished that the sand-cat could have picked a better time and place to display its obvious preference of him over Gaara.

"I wish to speak to Haruno-san," Gaara intoned solemnly, then added, "Privately."

The request would have seemed off under other circumstances, but Sakura and Shikamaru had forsaken the shelter of the watch tower and were then standing on an open-air overlook while Gaara stood at the doorway leading to said overlook.

Additionally, it did not seem to be so much a request as an order; if there was any doubt about the nature of the command, it was quickly cast aside by Gaara's act of moving away from the doorway to let Shikamaru pass.

Not wanting to be at the wrong end of Gaara's menacing aura, Shikamaru bent over to pick up the sand-cat and marched past Gaara, still remembering to observe formalities, "By your leave, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara waved Shikamaru away, a mild tilt of his head to acknowledge his Proxy Commander's words and nothing else.

The oddity of his behaviour, however, did not end there. Instead of stepping out into the overlook to join Sakura, Gaara stood his ground and closed his eyes after having caught sight of her.

Sakura was dressed in her usual red shinobi attire.

It should not have affected him as much as it did – most of the shinobis have already returned to wearing their usual attire instead of the standard-issue wartime shirts and slacks in anticipation of tonight. Certainly, caution was still on their minds, because every shinobi (barring those in… swimwear) still donned their flak jacket. At the drop of a pin, almost every shinobi would be battle-ready.

That hint of red under her jacket, combined with her shorts, reminded Gaara of the time when he first laid eyes on Sakura over a year ago when Naruto's team was sent to retrieve him from Akatsuki's clutches.

A time when they were but Kage and Konoha kunoichi – nothing more, nothing less; barely even acquaintances but for Naruto's own friendship with him.

Could he bear to return to that time, to let Sakura return to her duties in Konohagakure after the war and have everything back to status quo?

Unconsciously, he raised his hand to his chest and clenched at the fabric over it.

_No, I cannot,_ he finally admitted.

Unaware of the internal war Gaara was fighting with himself, Sakura, puzzled by his continued preference for the sheltered enclave of the watchtower, walked towards the doorway and effectively blocked most of the sunlight.

"Gaara?" She chanced.

The redhead looked to her, and the pain returned sharper than before; haloed as she was by the sun behind her, she appeared to be a literal shadow.

"I'm fine, Sakura," he replied.

Gaara forcefully lowered his hand, looking once again every bit the Regimental Leader as he leveled his gaze to meet Sakura's concerned ones.

"You look a little pale, Gaara. You didn't drink any of the tea that Temari was sending around the camp, did you?"

Gaara unconsciously rubbed at his abdomen for a moment, remembering how Baki had arrived that morning with a teapot and cup on a tray. His former teacher had said something about the drink being intended for Sakura by Temari, whom in turn received the orders from Shizune.

"I don't think so. Why?" asked Gaara.

"Erm…" Sakura started turning pink, "It's a contraceptive tea. Shishou claims that it'll lower the incidences of inter-Village pregnancies given the party planned for tonight.

"Personally, I think it may be a little late since the bikini parade began three days ago, but even a sip of that particular tea will prove to be effective for a period of five days… after."

"Is there any reason why you were given an entire teapot's worth?" Gaara could feel the beginning of a headache forming; no doubt his sister had a hand or two in this.

"I'm not sure," Sakura was so innocently oblivious at that moment that all Gaara wanted to do was to tuck her away in his robes and hide her from all the conniving minds of the world, which would mean Sakura having to spend the rest of her life pressed up against him.

It did not seem like such a terrible idea. In fact, it was downright appealing to a certain part of Gaara's male brain.

And just as suddenly, Sakura put two-and-two together and groaned aloud, smacking herself in the forehead as she uttered, "Oh, stars, they must have thought that you were planning on knocking boots with me tonight. Well, they are forgetting that as a medic, I have my own supply of contraceptives and I have never even missed a cycle of it. Not even once! Besides, that contraceptive tea is meant for accidents and not a preventive despite its name."

Sakura's righteous anger was clearly directed at the wrong issue, which explained the odd look and slight smirk that Gaara was sending her way.

"The tea doesn't go bad for a long time. Actually, it would be more accurate to call it a potion, but the inventor eventually went with 'tea' because it sounded more palatable. Before contraceptive pills were invented, this tea was carried around in small vials by kunoichis on missions," Sakura automatically recited as if she had a medical scroll in front of her.

Sakura's knowledge of medicine loved to make itself known whenever possible, but this was possibly its worst timing yet.

_Shut up, stupid medic-nin brain!_

Gaara was outright chuckling by now.

"Shishou made me memorise all those medical scrolls after she found out about my photogenic memory when it came to my studies – I didn't ask to remember that tidbit of information!" Sakura huffed and turned her pink-tinted cheeks away with what might be described as a little more force than necessary.

Ah, the Hokage.

The mere mention of her was enough to sober Gaara up immediately.

Sakura's eyebrows knitted together once more as she asked, "Are you certain you did not accidentally drink the tea, Gaara? It is known to cause indigestion-like symptoms in men."

"It's something else entirely, I can assure you," Gaara scowled lightly and then turned to look Sakura in the eyes, "I had a meeting with Hokage-sama this morning. We discussed certain matters pertaining to you."

Inwardly, Gaara braced himself for the shouting fest that was sure to follow.

Oddly calm for a change, Sakura walked into the shelter to stand a few steps away from Gaara and folded her arms, asking, "And what exactly were these 'matters' that you talked about?"

There was no use beating about the bush when Sakura had that particular look in her eyes, so Gaara answered her as neutrally as he could – "We spoke about your status as a Konoha kunoichi, and how you will return to that station once the war is over. Your Hokage is quite adamant about keeping you within Konohagakure."

Sakura pursed her lips; Gaara continued.

"Hokage-sama has also mentioned that the other Kages and their nations may not approve of a union between Konohagakure and Sunagakure – they will see it as the creation of a power imbalance that may one day lead to war," Gaara's shoulders slackened briefly before he assumed his erect posture once more, "I'm not certain if we will be able to convince them that there are no politics involved in our relationship – I am the Kazekage, and you together with Shizune-san are next in line for the title of Hokage."

"Wait, that's not correct, Gaara. Our daimyos elect the next Hokage through a voting system," Sakura's eyebrows were knitted together in confusion.

"Perhaps the war has taken centre stage for now and Hokage-sama did not wish to burden you with such details, but I believe she has found the time to add such a clause towards the title of Hokage. She mentioned once that she did not want anyone like Danzo ascending to power, so she has put forward the motion to the daimyos of your country that the indisposed Hokage's closest kins will rule as a regency until a new Hokage is elected unanimously by both the daimyos and the people of Konohagakure. Her reasoning was that this would lessen the chaos in the aftermath of a Hokage's sudden inability to perform her duties as there would be immediate leadership for the Village to fall back on, and while this motion has not been officially sanctioned by the daimyos, the other Kages including myself have given our written agreement to such an arrangement. It is very likely to be passed as a law once the danger of the war ceases to hang over our heads, so I'm not surprised that you've not been informed of your future responsibilities yet."

Gaara watched closely as Sakura took in the life-altering information; she went from gaping in disbelief to a shade of white so pale that she looked ready to faint. Finally, she balled her fists, and Gaara warily kept an eye on the blue chakra that was slowly licking its way up both her forearms.

"I'm sorry," Gaara bowed his head slightly, "I know I should not be the one telling you such sensitive information – your Hokage should have been the one to speak to you first."

"I'm not mad about that," Sakura said through clenched teeth.

Gaara raised an invisible eyebrow in askance; Sakura advanced upon him and came close enough to jab a finger squarely into his chest.

It was with some relief that Gaara noted how she had drawn the powerful chakra back from the hand that was on his body right now.

"I am mad… no, I am _furious_, that you and shishou think that you can plan out my entire life for me behind my back and without consulting me even once when I am just a summon away," Sakura whispered quietly enough to make her tone somewhat unnerving.

"Every shinobi's lot is decided by their ruling Kage. You have proven your worth in this war, and I have no doubt that Hokage-sama will see to it that yours will be improved considerably once Madara and Akatsuki are gone for good," Gaara answered as emotionlessly as possibly, "The other shinobi nations will not allow an alliance between our Nations once your rank is raised, as they will see this as a consolidation of power between Sunagakure and Konohagakure."

"I do not deny that shishou's words would overrule that of even my parents; such is the right of the Kage. The infuriating part of this is that both you and shishou have assumed to lay out my life for me," Sakura leaned back, arms crossed and drew herself a little taller, "Well, guess what? Appointing two regents is just a fail-safe – Shizune nee-san would no doubt be viewed as my senior even if we became co-regents, because she was shishou's first apprentice. My position in that arrangement is simply that of a backup should anything befall both shishou and Shizune nee-san.

"As for you, Kazekage-sama – I would not simply drop everything and start picking out the colours of the Kazehime robes the moment the war ends. You speak of a marriage alliance between our Villages as if it is a foregone conclusion. Did you somehow forget that I have to pass the Kazehime Trials? Or if I even wanted to relocate my entire life to even consider entering the Trials at all?"

She was not being fair to Gaara; Sakura knew as much. She entered the world of the shinobis, acutely aware that her life would be at the command of her Kage, and that she would have no say in her own future. It was her lot in life, and Sakura never had a reason to second-guess her decision to become a kunoichi.

However, it now seems that her life not only is at the beck and call of her own Kage, but is also the subject of much scrutiny by the other four Kages, one of whom was trying to claim ownership of her life as well. In a romantic manner, perhaps, but a claim nonetheless.

_Alpha males._

Gaara had been oddly silent throughout Sakura's outburst, and it took Sakura an extra moment to grasp that she had been studying her toes with great intensity since goodness knows when; It was no wonder she missed whatever that emotions that Gaara might have let slip past his carefully guarded countenance.

So it was with some measure of surprise that she found Gaara's hand extended to her, palm upwards. She looked up at Gaara's face, but he was a completely blank canvas to her eyes at that moment.

Finally, Sakura lifted her hand and placed it upon his palm, and Gaara's fingers closed around hers just firmly enough that he was able to draw her against his chest by tugging on her hand.

It was when Gaara's exhale fanned across the top of her head that Sakura realised she now only came up to his cheekbones; the young Kazekage was finally hitting his growth spurt, while she was stuck at her present height.

"I'm sorry," Gaara's breath caressed her bangs, tickling her forehead.

"… I'm sorry, too," Sakura closed her eyes and pressed a little closer, "It's just that…"

"That there is an on-going war, and that you do not need to be further burdened by politics right now?"

Gaara could feel a smile from Sakura's lips forming against his collarbone as she said, "That's not it."

"… That the idea of moving from a land of green to another of sand is something that you need to give more thought to?"

"Leaving my hometown permanently is certainly something I need to wrap my head around, but that's still not it."

Gaara loosened his hold and leaned back just enough to gaze into Sakura's eyes and confess quietly, "Then I am utterly confused."

"I'm just frustrated that everyone is making so many assumptions about our relationship and the future, including you, Kazekage-sama," Sakura prodded his chest with a finger, and blushed, "And we have not even gone on a proper date yet."

Gaara cocked an invisible eyebrow, and Sakura flushed even more as she ducked her head once again and quickly added, "Yes, I know we are in the middle of a war with heavy casualties, and you are the Regimental Leader who cannot be expected to leave his post for any reason. But it just seems like all the time we have alone nowadays involves one of us being injured or sick, which is supposed to be the original nature of our relationship, since I am your personal medic, and…"

Gaara pressed a finger against her lips to stop Sakura from running her mouth off; he needed to get a word in edgewise.

"Today is my birthday, therefore I am taking the night off. We will spend it together, and I won't let anyone interrupt us. It'll serve as a 'date'."

If he was expecting Sakura to be pleased by his decision, her completely flummoxed expression said otherwise.

"But, but… you're the Regimental Leader! You can't take the night off! There is no such thing!"

Gaara simply replied calmly, "I have a Proxy Commander, whom I intend to have take my place for those few hours – Shikamaru-san will not run the army into the ground within such a short timeframe. And this birthday party… thing… The other Kages will be here, along with their seconds. We will not be lacking in strength should Akatsuki choose to attack. In fact, we may be stronger than they expect us to be.

"Besides, it is my birthday. I get to make one wish, and I decided to make it that I will have time alone with you for at least today. It gives me a reason to escape the debauchery that may or may not occur, and it will give us both time to catch up on matters outside of this war."

Sakura opened her mouth with a retort on her lips, but no words came out. Eventually, in the face of Gaara's bemused smirk, she decided to let him win this round and tucked herself neatly under his chin.

"… we are both very stubborn, aren't we?" Sakura finally whispered.

"We would not have made for a very good match otherwise."

"I'm being serious, Gaara." A light thump of her palm against his chest – she seemed to be getting into the habit of doing that to Gaara a lot these days; physically admonishing him whenever he gave her cheeks a reason to burst into a brilliant hue or red.

"So, will you honour me by going on a date with me tonight, Haruno-san?"

The seriousness in Gaara's tone was completely overshadowed by the twinkle of mirth in his eyes.

Sakura's muffled reply was lost against his robes; Gaara took it as a good sign.

"We should go back to our tent. Baki-san informed me that there would be some debriefing by the Intelligence Division with regards to tonight's event."

With Sakura still clinging to him and showing no signs of wanting to let go anytime soon, Gaara decided that the best way to transport them was through the use of his sand. Automatically, Sakura pressed closer as the cloud of sand from his gourd engulfed them…

… And landed them both in an ungainly heap on a soft and slightly bouncy surface that felt like it could be either one of their beds.

That should not have happened – Gaara knew the placement of every object in his tent by heart, and had calculated for the sand to transport them near his paper-strewn desk. Their beds should have been on the other side of the tent.

This meant only one thing: someone had been inside their tent, and had deliberately moved their furniture about. The only questions remaining was how did a spy infiltrate their encampment in spite of all the precautions that the security team had taken, and what the perpetrator had hoped to achieve by ransacking their tent to the extent of shoving entire pieces of furniture out of their place; none of the Division Commanders, including the Regimental Leader, kept any sensitive information in physical form as a precaution against spies, so the puzzle was getting more complex by the minute.

"Gaara?" Sakura pitched her voice into a whisper, her thoughts catching up with his in an instant; Gaara would not commit the error of dropping them on an unexpected surface – his slight hitch in his breathing gave his own surprise away – so it was probably correct to assume that something was off.

Knowing that she could not see his gestures in the darkness of the tent, Gaara reached down to touch her thigh holster instead; Sakura let her hand reach down to unbuckle the clasp on her holster as quietly as possible, encountering a gentle but reassuring squeeze of her fingers from the Kazekage.

_Arm yourself. Be ready for anything._

"SURPRISE!"

A burst of light erupted in the tent, quickly illuminating the entire interior and causing Gaara to throw up a shield purely out of instinct. It was only after his brain had finished processing the single, shouted word that the sand shield began to dissolve away, revealing both Gaara and Sakura to an equally stunned gathering of familiar shinobis whom have formed a semi-circle near the centre of the tent, each bearing gifts of all shapes of sizes.

At that point, nobody was certain who was more surprised: the Kazekage and his personal medic, or his well-meaning (but obviously poorly timed) birthday-wishers.

Someone in the group cleared his throat; Gaara quickly released his hold on Sakura's hand.

The situation was obviously an unexpected one, and someone had to take control soon before the silence in the tent grew any heavier.

Naturally, that position fell to Temari.

"Ok, which idiot forgot to tell Gaara about this?"

Baki bowed his head slightly and stood forward, "I mentioned to Kazekage-sama that he should expect company in his tent, though I did not tell him the true purpose in order not to ruin the surprise."

"Well, the surprise is still ruined!" Temari scowled as she pointed at the rigid forms of her brother and his lover.

"My _eyes_ are ruined," Kankurou grumbled quietly to no one in particular.

"Baki-san," Gaara pushed himself off the bed, careful to avoid any physical contact with Sakura that might worsen the blush on her cheeks, then marched to stand before the gathering of shinobis, "In the future, while I do appreciate the care you took to help in setting up this surprise, I hope you will mention if any major movement of furniture is to occur in the process."

Baki bowed even lower in deference to Gaara's status, then straightened up and apologised, "I will make special note of that, Kazekage-sama."

"Erm, it's not really Baki-san's fault," Naruto's voice had a slightly sheepish tone to it, "I thought your tent was a bit cramped, so I tried to clear some space."

Gaara cast a sweeping glance towards Naruto's redecorating efforts, and noted that his best friend, well-intentioned as he was, was definitely a little too enthusiastic about his task; there was now enough empty standing space for at least a crowd four times their current size.

Finally having gathered her senses together, Sakura rose from the bed and cracked her knuckles dangerously in Naruto's direction, causing the blonde jinchuuriki to flinch on instinct.

Fortunately any thoughts of violence on Sakura's part was quickly banished by the sight of Shikamaru entering the tent with the sand-cat trailing after him and holding a very odd ball of what seemed to be crumpled wrapping paper. A heartbeat later, she found herself shrieking in a very unlady-like manner while jabbing an accusatory finger at Shikamaru.

"My present! What did you do to it?!"

With the alarm bells going off in his head, Shikamaru quickly raised the ball-shaped mess in front of him as a shield; surely Sakura would not risk damaging her present for Gaara, right?

"Shikamaru! You said the sensor shinobis were just going to do a security clearance on it, but it looks like it exploded and you hastily wrapped it up in whatever you could pass for gift wrapping!"

"There is a very good reason for this," Shikamaru began as he lowered the package slightly, "Apparently, your parents must have asked a shinobi to perform a shrinkage jutsu on it or something, because the moment we cut the string on the package, your… present went back to its normal size and would not fit in the original wrapping anymore.

"And, erm, I think this is from your mother – it came in the package," Shikamaru quickly thrusted both the present and a small envelope at Sakura, thereby keeping her hands safely occupied and unable to do him any bodily harm with them.

Correspondence from their homes were rare: the War Council had agreed to a regular delivery of mail from the frontlines back to their Villages, but the responses had to clear security before they could be passed on to their recipients. With the frequent deliveries of supplied and other necessities to the camps, coupled with the constant coming and going of squads on perimeter duty that needed clearance, the screening of personal mail was given a lower priority as a result, with most shinobis having received only one or even no letters despite being almost six months into the war. While Sakura had sent letters to her parents to assure them of her well-being, this was the first time she received a reply, and it had to come inside the package that the sand-cat brought back in order to pass clearance faster than the normal route.

With Sakura oblivious to everything except the envelope in her hand and having relinquished Gaara's present to a nearby chair, she failed to catch his little scowl of frustration as his friends and loved ones began shoving their presents in his face in rapid succession.

"Sakura,

I hope this letter gets through to you. We have been receiving your letters and replying to them, but I don't know if you've received any of them yet. If you didn't get any of them yet, just know that everything is well at home.

Your father had another attack of gout, but he is doing fine.

Your animal companion is tracking sand all over the house. Does this mean you are seeing someone from Suna? What is he like? Does he treat you well? I hope it is not that Gaara kid that attacked you during the invasion of Konohagakure by Sunagakure.

Your father just reminded me that Gaara is now the Kazekage.

I don't know why Hokage-sama decided to assign you to him, knowing your personal history with that sand punk. I hope he remains hearty and well throughout the war so you need not spend so much time with him.

Your father also mentioned that if you are seeing someone from Sunagakure, he will accept no offers for your hand in marriage unless it is from the Kazekage himself. I am ignoring him.

Anyway, because your cat is so small, and the item you requested is so big, I asked our retired shinobi neighbour Takemoto-san to cast a jutsu on it. It should remain compact and flat until you cut all the strings off the outer package.

Is it really that cold where you are right now? I hope this does not mean that they are not giving you everything you need to stay fit enough to take care of that sand punk.

Your father reminded me that you are at war and not at a party, so rations would be distributed according to rank. I am going to keep ignoring your father.

Please stay safe, Sakura. And write back if you can.

Lots of love,

Your mother."

"… be a quilt of some sort."

At the sound of Temari's voice, Sakura snapped back to the present and quickly looked over at the chair where she had placed Gaara's present.

The sorry excuse trying to pass for wrapping paper was the only thing there.

_Oh, stars!_

Sakura whipped around to the little gathering in their tent, and found Gaara holding her present in his extended arms as if he didn't know what to do with it, or what it even was in the first place.

"No, it feels waterproof," Shikamaru poked at the rolled-up fabric, and then pointed to the side, "And I'm pretty sure quilts don't come with a zipper."

"Gaa… Kazekage-sama!" Sakura gaped, quickly stuffing the letter into her pouch and strode over to the group of probing onlookers.

As if in silent agreement, the shinobis parted to give Sakura a direct path to Gaara, who was still studying her present with a look of mild confusion knitted on his brows. She practically saw in slow motion as Gaara's gaze shifted slightly in that certain way whenever he had come to a decision, and could do nothing to stop the Kazekage from abruptly flicking his hands to let her present unfurl like a scroll.

Sakura was certain that crickets didn't come out during the day, but she could have sworn she heard their chirping over the baffled silence when the fabric came to a stop just before touching her toes.

Naruto, as expected, was the one to break the silence.

"… Sakura-chan, is this a… sleeping bag?"

Temari turned to face Naruto and snapped, "That's ridiculous; they have _beds_ in their tent, for goodness sake. Why would Sakura give Gaara a sleeping bag?"

"It doesn't change the fact that it is a sleeping bag," Shikamaru added most unhelpfully.

Deciding that the best defense was a good offensive, Sakura rested her fists on her hips and said as calmly as her voice allowed, "And why did you all decide that it would be alright to open my present to Kazekage-sama without asking me? Couldn't you have given him your own gifts first?"

Naruto leaned over, one foot placed in such a way that he would be able to dodge a punch should Sakura decide to launch one, then whispered, "Sakura-chan, all of us gave Gaara his presents already. You were just standing there reading, and you even ignored Shikamaru's prodding."

Looking down at her feet, Sakura watched as a tendril of shadow retreat in an almost discreet manner while Shikamaru maintained his unperturbed countenance. For some reason, the Nara prodigy's gaze was shifting towards Gaara every now and then, as if he was afraid of being caught with a hand in the cookie jar or something.

Sakura, still blissfully unaware of the number of people now privy to the knowledge of her dating history with Shikamaru, could not for the life of her figure out why Temari elbowed Shikamaru in his kidney.

"So… any reason for this choice of a birthday gift, Sakura-chan?" Kakashi piped up from near the back of the crowd.

There was absolutely no way she was going to tell anyone, ever, that Gaara was still most insistent upon letting her sit on his sash and lean against his gourd every time the both of them went to star-gaze in the desert; Sakura simply could not shake off the idea that she was somehow being disrespectful towards a Kage whenever she was asked to sit down next to Gaara, no matter how often he had reassured her that he held no such notions.

With Gaara's constant habit of star-gazing, combined with the chill of the desert winds at night, Sakura thought that she had stumbled upon the perfect gift idea of getting him a bed roll – the both of them could sit on it, and Gaara would stop sending her mind into very embarrassing places by trying to give her the robe off his back whenever her skin became a little colder to the touch than he would like; she could just curl up on it and stay warm, and there would be plenty of space for Gaara to still sit next to her.

Also, she was getting a little tired of picking sand and dirt off her thighs, to be honest.

… Alright, so it was not strictly a present for Gaara, but something she wanted as well. But it was still mostly for Gaara.

It's the thought that counts, right?

"Thank you for the presents, and the thoughts behind them," Gaara addressed the small crowd as he cast a wary eye at the pile of gifts stacked on his table, the sleeping bag still slung over one of his arms like an overgrown towel, "Especially since we are in the middle of war with Akatsuki and Madara, and some of you had to make special arrangements for the gifts to be brought here."

Everyone except for Gaara simultaneously turned to look at Sakura, then quickly turned back to their former directions when one of her fists began to glow with blue chakra.

"Shikamaru-san, I will take a few hours off tonight. You'll take my place for the time that I am gone," Gaara announced.

"You're going to bail on your own birthday party!?" Temari's voice was raised, "Gaara, it may not be your coming-of-age birthday party, but it is still your party. You _have_ to be here."

"I am not going to 'bail out' on the party. I will be here for all the formalities, after which I wish to spend a few hours away."

Baki started shaking his head, "This was not accounted for, Kazekage-sama. We will need to arrange for security detail to follow you, even if you wish for just a few hours of privacy."

Gaara folded his arms across his chest and replied, "I will be within a safe distance from the encampment, I assure you, Baki-san. I do not want to be interrupted tonight, and I will hear no more about this."

One did not need to be a shinobi to see the dangers that were likely to arise in the situation that Gaara had just presented: the warring shinobi world was going to have a quick break from the carnage for a night of (strictly limited) alcohol and (still battle-ready) relaxation. As if that was not an invitation for Akatsuki to attack the Allied Shinobi Forces, the Regimental Leader had just declared that he was going to wander off to goodness knows where and refused to have a small army accompanying him.

It was a recipe for disaster, as far as anyone could see.

Except for Naruto, who was alternating his gaze from Sakura, to the sleeping bag, to Gaara, and then back to her again.

Then came the rudely jabbed finger in Gaara's direction as Naruto declared in his too-loud voice, "Are you planning on going on a date with Sakura-chan tonight?"

Sakura froze.

Shikamaru face-palmed himself.

The rest of the shinobis were displaying various states of incredulousness at Naruto's seemingly absurd statement.

Gaara simply nodded.

The tent exploded.

"You're going on a date? With Sakura?"

"Kazekage-sama, while I respect your need for privacy, your security…"

"Way to go, little brother!"

"Am I supposed to chaperone them? Hokage-sama made it clear that I had to protect Sakura-chan's virtue," same a small voice from inside Sakura's flak jacket.

The slug summon, whom had been oddly tolerant of Gaara and Sakura's non-platonic interactions for a while now, decided to be the voice of reason.

At the worst possible time.

"I do not deny that I will be spending time with Haruno-san tonight," Gaara replied, glaring in the direction of Sakura's collar, "But we require no chaperone. I will protect Sakura, just as I have promised Hokage-sama as well."

"But how are you going to protect her from yourself?" the slug inside Sakura's jacket collar finally popped her head out, her tentacles waving in an agitated fashion.

"… I pose no threat to Haruno-san whatsoever, Katsuyu-san."

"We'll see about that!" Katsuyu puffed herself up to look bigger.

Taken out of context, the conversation was an embarrassment to overhear.

Taken in context, Sakura was about to combust from a mixture of indignation and mortification.

Someone in the tent coughed deliberately, and reality snapped back into place.

"Okay!" Temari clapped her hands together, the grin on her face wider than Sakura had ever seen, "Tonight will be a quadruple celebration: our defeat of the White Zetsus, the defeat of Kabuto, my brother's birthday, and the day he becomes a Man!"

If fainting dead away was a graceful option, Sakura would have taken it.

Unfortunately, it was not, so she settled for the less graceful option of bodily shoving everyone out of the tent, and nearly taking Gaara along with the press of protesting shinobis.

Naruto, however, could be just a forceful when he wanted to be. Before Sakura even knew it, he had slipped out of the crowd and was standing in front of Gaara.

"If you ever hurt Sakura-chan, Gaara…" Naruto left the rest unsaid.

"Out!" Sakura reached for Naruto's collar and tried to pull him out of the tent, but was caught by surprise when Naruto laid a hand over her wrist and clasped it.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto's voice was pitched low, "Don't ever be unhappy, okay?"

_You never forget your first love._

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Sakura forced out a weak nod. Naruto, apparently satisfied for now, nodded back and left the tent without another backward glance.

Gaara closed the distance between them and asked quietly, "Are you alright, Sakura? I apologise for Temari's words – she can be rather… excitable at times."

"No, no, it's fine," Sakura reached up to tuck a non-existent strand of hair behind her ear awkwardly, "I know they are just teasing us."

Katsuyu tried to say something, but Sakura smoothly placed her hand over the slug to quiet its colourful vocabulary that followed.

"Then we have a date tonight," Gaara smiled softly and leaned over to press a kiss to her temple, then whispered, "And please try to keep Katsuyu-san here in the camp."

Suddenly, Gaara turned to face the tent flap, and after a moment's pause, sighed and looked to Sakura, "The other Kages are here. I must go and receive them."

Sakura nodded; in spite of her rank, she was not required to be present at the Regimental Leader's side all the time, and for that, she was grateful.

Especially now with all the blood capillaries that have burst in her cheeks in the past few minutes – she resembled every bit a pink-topped tomato.

With Gaara gone, Sakura sank slowly to the floor and clasped her cheeks with her hands, one horrifying, irrational thought overriding everything else in her head.

_Oh, stars, I don't have a single thing to wear for my first date with Gaara!_


End file.
